


20/20 Sight

by acoolegg



Series: 20/20 - The Soul Seer AU [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: And violence, Angst, Cool cool, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Learning Magic, Multiple Timelines, Personal AU, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Resets, Slow Burn (I think), Soul Stealing, domestic life, fem!reader - Freeform, flowey has appeared, gloria is a cinnamon roll, i love girls, lots of children (both monster and human), lots of world building, monster killer is on the loose, monster racism, oh no, reader does not like her real name, reader has a daughter (gloria), reader has an established nickname (mama g), reader has piercings and tattoos and is in her thirties, reader is a cool mom, sans has boundary issues, so many fem!ocs, soul and void shenanigans, soul seer au, there's blood now, upped the rating to M, we did it reddit we made it to the first conflict arc, woops family drama, woops time shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-14
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-07-14 11:36:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 55,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7169435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acoolegg/pseuds/acoolegg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Monsters have been on the Surface for nearly two years. Despite this, you haven't really changed. You still focus on keeping your daughter safe and happy in between your Seeing appointments.</p><p>That all changes when you encounter monsters for the first time. It's a good change.</p><p>Previously called 'Eyes Being Windows to the Soul is BS.'<br/><b>On-Hiatus until my life can get itself back together and I have motivation for this again, lol. (Probably in November or something.)</b></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Domestic

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Not Your Doll.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6087736) by [LadyAnatares](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyAnatares/pseuds/LadyAnatares). 
  * Inspired by [Domestic Life with a Skeleton](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6453139) by [LadyAnatares](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyAnatares/pseuds/LadyAnatares). 



> Just so you know: This fanfic is a personal AU (at least I think so, since no one has done something similar to this from what I’ve seen). I call it the 'Soul Seers AU'. The premise is that a small amount of humans still retain a _very_ small amount of magic, which manifests itself as the ability to seek out and examine souls on command. These humans, called Soul Seers, are descendants of the seven mages. Seers can be identified by the heart-shaped birthmarks found somewhere on their body. (These heart-shaped birthmarks are typically slightly tinged with a Seer’s soul color, too!)
> 
> @LadyAnatares: you are a beautiful soul, yo. Your works have been really influential on this!! :D Thanks for writing them (and also being super cool??)
> 
> That's all that you really need to know, I think. Any questions? Ask me in the comments!
> 
> (*posts work* Ah man hell yeah this is gre--did AO3 fuck up my tags? what the fuck. what the fuCK??  
> anyways, if my tags seem like a bunch of mumbo jumbo, AO3 messed up their order? they were supposed to go like this:  
>  **fem!reader, reader is a cool mom, she has piercings and stuff, and she is in her thirties so shes an older lady compared to some of the other readers out there, she has a kinda established name, its just mama g, why is she called that, its a mystery, reader is not frisk, gloria is basically a cinnamon roll, fluff, angst, domestic family stuff, personal au, soul seer au, gonna see all the souls ya sinners, gaster is basically gonna be the reader’s best friend, undertale series, i’m going to hell but i love it, tags will change as we go, idk how stuff will go**  
>  so yeah. it's fucked up. gonna look into that tomorrow.)

Gloria always woke up at 7:47 in the morning. She didn’t have to wake up until eight o’clock, but every morning she woke up at 7:47. She had been that way since she was born; the time was engraved in her soul. You had done some research on the importance of times to souls, as some of your customers had come in with times (or dates, on occasion) engraved into their souls. All the books that you had found told you was that these engravings were important to a person’s destiny.

You didn’t know why 7:47 A.M. was so important to her destiny, but you wished it could’ve waited until a little later in the day. You didn’t mind being woken up thirteen minutes ‘til eight every morning, but sometimes you could use the extra time. Despite your constant sleep deprivation, you always woke up for your daughter. She would stare at you with her forest green eyes, a sleepy smile spread across her face as she nuzzled her cheek against your neck.

Your yawn fell into a sigh as she continued to nuzzle your neck. Her green-tinged birthmark resonated with your own blue-tinged birthmark, a small bit of magic sparking for a split-second. “Morning, baby girl,” you greeted after a moment, pulling her small form against your body. You could feel her smile pressed against your neck, and you smiled softly as you rubbed her back.

“Morning, Mama,” she returned after stretching. “I want fruity hoops for breakfast, please!” She pushed herself up to look at you. Her eyes trailed down to your mouth, and she stared at it thoughtfully. Then her chubby little fingers reached up to tug at the piercing in your lip. “You should wear the purple one today! It’s the prettiest, ‘cause it’s got the star in the middle of the bead.” You grinned, rubbing your eyes as you sat up. She fell back and sat comfortably in your lap to wait for your response.

“The purple one, huh?” She nodded, her messy hair flipping with her head. You pat her head, “I’ll change it after breakfast. We both need to eat before we can do anything else.” Gloria nodded and pushed herself off the bed, fixing her nightgown before she waddled out to the kitchen. You stared after her with a laid back smile, running a hand through your hair. Sleep deprivation was worth it if you could wake up to her happiness every morning.

With a final yawn, you swung your legs over the side of your bed and grabbed your phone off of the nightstand. You pressed the button on the side, lighting up the screen so you could check the time. It read 7:59. You unlocked your phone so you could cancel your alarm. It was pretty pointless for you to have an alarm set for eight o’clock when you had a living alarm clock, but you couldn’t bring yourself to delete it. It was a habit to turn it on every night and then turn it off every morning after Gloria woke you up. It was a habit… It was a part of you.

“Mama, come on!” You grinned at her impatience, holding your phone as you walked out of your bedroom. You glanced at the stairs on your way down the hallway, shrugging when you saw that the curtain at the bottom fluttered a little bit. It wasn’t odd for the draft to move it.

You owned a two-story house on the edge of Ebott City, but the second floor was where you and Gloria lived. You had converted the first floor into your business area, where all the stuff you needed to run your Seeing sessions was gathered.

“Glor, Glor, I’m here.” You soothed chidingly, seeing your daughter playfully puff out her cheeks. She continued to pretend-pout as you poured Fruit Loops into her bowl. She only giggled and smiled after you set the bowl in front of her. As was your tradition, you poured some milk into a cup and set it in front of her. She dumped it over her cereal with a gleeful squeal. You had no idea why she took such enjoyment in pouring milk on her cereal, but it made her happy so you saw no fault in letting her do it.

Once she started munching on her cereal, you went over to the cupboard and pulled out a box of s’mores poptarts. You got a silver package out of the box, then took the two pastries out of that and dropped them into your toaster. Leaning against the counter, you sighed and waited for them to cook. Gloria spooned another bite into her mouth, milk dribbling down her chin. She spoke with her mouth full, “Mama, can I do the magic?”

You tilted your head at the question. “You don’t have to ask to use your Sight, baby. Not with your mama, at least.” She nodded, squeezing her eyes close. You grinned at her silly actions; she liked to close her eyes before she used her Sight, simply because she liked to think it turned it on. You did the same, for dramatic effect.

When you opened your eyes back up, the world around you fell into slightly muted colors. Gloria dulled into gray-tones. The Sight did that to help bring focus to the souls around you. In this case, the only soul was your daughter’s. Her soul - mostly hunter green with a fragment of blue, 7:47 etched into it with elegant script - was beating in time to her heart; it looked like her body was gray-colored glass, and that her soul was kept within it.

You watched as she opened her eyes, her pupils surrounded by glowing white hearts. She gasped, covering her mouth as she stared at your soul. You looked down to see what was so strange.

A bright blue soul pulsed with your heartbeat. It looked like glass to you (glass within glass?), but only because of how your soul was cracked. A fragment of it was missing, a void-like blackness taking residence within the blue. You looked back to Gloria’s soul, smiling softly at the blue within it. You had given up a lot to have her and keep her, and it showed in both of your souls. The cracks that came from the missing fragment… They meant nothing as long as you still had your baby.

You looked back at her, that motherly questioning look on your face. You were silently asking what she gasped at. She pulled her hands from her mouth and revealed her wide smile. “Your soul is still so pretty, Mama!” She hopped off her chair (the sound of it scraping against the ground was muted slightly, as the Sight seemed to do that with all of your senses) and approached you. She moved her hands like she was pulling rope, coaxing your soul out. “I wanna touch it, please!”

You grinned, “It’s a little late for ‘please’, but go ahead, Glor.” Though you should probably tell her that she is _not_ allowed to just coax souls out of people without their permission. You put that in the ‘remember later’ section of your brain. Your grin smoothed into a maternal smile, watching as she raised her hands to pull your cracked soul close to her.

She ran her hands over the humps at the top, a soothing green magic trail following her movements. You watched in intrigue. The books you had found said that green magic had healing properties in monster culture. You knew that her magic was weak - both from her young age and the minimal amount present within her - but you wondered if some of the residual healing properties remained with her. It would be interesting to see as she got older, you mused.

“Your soul is so pretty, Mama.” She poked a finger into the inky black space, wriggling it around. You tried to muffle a giggle (it felt like she was tickling you from the inside). She pulled it out and smiled up at you, “I love you!” Then she wrapped her arms around your soul and hugged it. You wheezed at the pressure she was putting on the blue heart, patting her head roughly. She blinked before realizing her mistake, then she released your soul. “Oh no, I squeezed the air out of you again, didn’t I?”

You gasped, “Yeah… don’t worry Glor… I’m good.” You grabbed your soul and pulled it back into your body. After air was back in your lungs and not being hyperventilated out, you said, “I think that’s enough Seeing for now, though.” She nodded, squeezing her eyes closed once again. You didn’t close your eyes, instead turning to glance at the toaster as color and sound faded back in. You frowned, reaching for a plate off the counter and pulling the s’mores flavored pastries out. “My poptarts are cold.”

Gloria’s eyes popped back open as she climbed back into her seat. “My cereal is soggy, Mama!” she complained. You looked between the cold pastries and soggy cereal before sighing defeatedly.

“I think the Bob Evan’s nearby is open… Let’s go get dressed and we’ll go, okay?” She nodded quickly, standing up on her chair and jumping to the floor. She ran off, towards her bedroom, an excited smile on her face. “And you have to wear pants this time!”

She let out a long groan, one that you could hear from the kitchen. “But Mama!”

You grinned as you gathered the dishes, dumping the cereal into the sink and throwing the poptarts into a plastic bag (they could be saved for later). “No _butts_ shall be had, Gloria Hazel! Pants are a must!”

“So skirts aren’t a must?” she asked, trying to worm out of wearing pants. Or, more accurately, underwear.

“I do _not_ want to see your naked butt, Gloria Hazel! No butts!”


	2. Spills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bob Evan's was pretty cool. The food was okay, and the bigots kept to themselves for once.
> 
> Oh, there was a nice monster lady with her human kid there, too. They were pretty cool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  ***throws not-Sans at you and runs***  
>  _HAHAHA WORLD BUILDING and FRIENDSHIP_  
>  Oh, in case any of you are interested, I've set up a Google Doc that kind of gives the bare-bones of how souls work in this AU. I'm going to update it as we go, adding Seer info and stuff, too. (It looks really weird because I needed it set up for my OCD). It can be found [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ryi2sGFbp6deel9-WuE8M4LxXezuK6g2wcmhkfAocPw/edit?usp=sharing). If there's something that doesn't make sense in it, feel free to comment. I like making my things comprehensible, yo.

The lady in the booth across from you and Gloria kept looking at you accusingly. You had noticed her when you walked in, but only because she had gasped at your piercings and Gloria’s birthmark. It was always the birthmark they looked at first (since it covered the entirety of her right cheek), but it was when they saw your piercings that they started becoming audible.

Gloria speared a couple pieces of pancake onto her fork, adding sound effects as she shoved them into her mouth. You watched her over the rim of your coffee mug, your omelette having been finished off a while ago. The white ceramic hid your smile from her, causing her to up her antics.

The lady in the booth huffed angrily when you shut your eyes to breath in deeply for a moment. You flicked your gaze over to her, staring at her coldly. Your coldness was another part of you, like your alarm… like your soul. It had been with you since middle school. It wasn’t until you met him - you looked back over at your Gloria and smiled gently, watching as she tried to impale a sausage link on the end of her fork with the same enthusiastic focus he had had - that the iciness had started to melt from your personality.

You set your coffee mug down when the lady called a waitress over. You watched her from your peripherals, using your Sight to examine her soul quietly. It shined a dampened cyan, the dulled color radiating off it in crushing waves. So, she leaned more towards the darkness that cyan souls had to offer, huh? _Wrath._

After a moment, you glanced over at the waitress’ soul, sighing when you saw it being affected by _Ms.Wrath’s_ waves. The waitress’ soul was a soft lavender-pink, but you could see the swirl of dark cyan within it. You watched, raising an eyebrow curiously as the lavender-pink took the cyan within it, then pushed it back out. You looked up to watch the waitress deliver a beautiful smile, explaining something to the lady before walking away with a confident smile on her face. You grinned in turn, lifting your mug to take another drink-

-only to have it spill when Gloria reached out to touch you.

Your Sight stopped immediately, your eyes widening in surprise as the coffee spilled. Gloria shrieked when it hit her hand, still scalding hot. “Baby!” you cried, hurriedly setting the cup down to take her hand into yours. You looked at her, watching as she struggled to not cry. After a moment, the pain was too much and tears spilled down her face. Gloria was a silent crier (and it hurt your heart).

You stood up to pluck her from her side of the booth, pulling her into your lap so you could cuddle her. The waitress from before came over, “Ma’am, does she need an ice pack?” You looked at her and nodded, holding Gloria’s hand in yours but not touching the burn.

“Kiss it, Mama,” Gloria cried softly, holding her hand to your mouth. You pressed your lips against it. She cried out from the touch, “Ma…” After another moment, a hand touched your shoulder.

You assumed it was the waitress, raising your hand up to take the ice pack. When nothing was put in your hand, you glanced over your shoulder. Was this a joke? Gloria was in pain and it wasn’t right to just - oh that’s a very nice looking goat lady. “Hello?” you said, though your voice sounded small and it wasn’t a statement.

The goat lady nodded towards your daughter, “I know that you are waiting for an ice pack, but I might be able to offer a better solution. I know some healing magic - it might not heal the burn entirely, but it should dull the pain so it’s more bearable for her.” You blinked before nodding, looking down at Gloria.

“Baby, this kind woman knows some healing magic. She’s gonna use it on your hand so it doesn’t hurt as much.” Watery green eyes stared at you, then looked over at the goat lady. She took her hand from yours and extended it towards her.

“Please make my hand feel better… please.” The goat lady (was it racist if you called her that? You didn’t know her name) smiled gently, crouching on the outside of your booth. She took Gloria’s hand into her own and closed her eyes. A soft green glow emanated from her hands (paws?) and you faintly caught the smell of evergreens and a summer’s day. You watched as your daughter’s tears slowed, coming to a stop as a smile spread across her face.

“Does your hand feel better, my child?” she asked softly, opening up her paws to show Glor’s hands. The angry red splotch from before was just barely pink. Your daughter gasped before she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around the lady’s (you mentally decided that calling her ‘goat lady’ was indeed racist) neck. She laughed, “I’m going to assume that it does indeed feel better then.”

You smiled, rubbing Gloria’s head. “Okay, Glor, give her a little room to breath.” She pulled back into your lap, smiling widely at her healer. You looked at her, “Thanks so much, Miss…?” You hoped she caught your drift.

She did, “I am Toriel. And you two are?” You grinned as you rubbed your daughter’s side. She wasn’t crying any longer; in face, she seemed more energetic, livelier. That didn’t stop her from suddenly shying away, digging her face into your chest.

“This is Gloria. Everyone calls me Mama G.” Toriel giggled softly, her eyes holding a warm mirth. “Really, though, thanks. You didn’t have to do that… You want a coffee? Something to eat?” She shook her head, her soft white ears shaking slightly.

“No, I’m here with my child as well, Frisk. But, since you’re offering something, might you be able to answer a couple questions?” You tilted your head and nodded. She smiled delightedly, walking away. You assumed to get their kid.

You didn’t want to think it, but the fact that she had questions for you made you a little queasy. From the few monsters you had met and from what you heard about through your customers or the internet, you were under the impression that monsters were very kind. You hoped that she just had some interest in something random, or wanted to ask a couple directional questions.

You had had one too many “concerned” parent do something nice for you, only to turn around and ask some really rude questions. _Especially_ when Gloria was around; people that didn’t agree with your piercings and tattoos liked to think they were hammering in the ‘you should be a natural, _good_ role model’ idea by trying to embarrass you in front of your daughter.

Toriel returned, a kid that looked to be nine following her with a plate of pancakes in their hands. Gloria grinned at them, waving excitedly. They waved back, just as excitedly. That’s… odd. She never warmed up to anyone that quickly. You tilted her head back and let your Sight fade the world slightly. White hearts surrounded her pupils. You shook your head. She looked away guiltily. The white hearts faded from around her eyes.

Oh. You need to stop the story for a second to explain what just happened in case someone doesn’t get it? Soul Seers can tell if someone else is Seeing if white hearts are around their pupils. Only problem is that both Seers have to be using the sight. It’s kind of like - oh, how did one book describe it? It’s kind of like the white hearts are made of invisible ink, and the Sight is a backlight that allows you to see it. Apologies for having to stop.

Colors returned, but you realized something. Gloria saw something good, something _safe_ and _kind_ , in that Frisk kid’s soul. She hadn’t had that with another child before. Because of the birthmark on her face, she had never felt like she could be friends. You wanted to see Frisk’s soul, but you decided against it.

Toriel and Frisk sat across from you and Gloria. After a moment of rearranging plates, drinks, silverware, and other assorted things, everyone was positioned comfortably around the table. The lady from the booth across from you stood up brashly, ripping a check off of the table and huffing away angrily. Your eyes trailed after her; the back of her white t-shirt read ‘Real Moms Are From God’ in bright red.

You rolled your eyes. Bigot. You looked back to the people around you, taking in everything. Gloria bounced excitedly, talking to Frisk. You noticed something odd, though. Frisk didn’t talk back (or nod their head, or make any kind of responsive movement; they just moved their face), but they were definitely having a conversation. With a curious look, you locked eyes with Toriel. You put the ‘ask about Frisk and how they are communicating with Gloria’ question in the ‘remember later’ section of your brain. “You had questions?” Another question, not a statement. It trailed off tentatively.

She nodded. “I do not know how to phrase this without being brash or rude, but…” Here it comes, ‘you shouldn’t look like that!’ “The birthmark on Gloria’s cheek, and the one on your neck; what are they?” You blinked at the question, before smiling.

“They’re Soul Seer birthmarks.” Her eyes widened (woah were her eyes the color amethyst?) at the answer. She seemed… surprised? But, she was a monster. Souls were their thing. You had assumed… “I, uh, I don’t wanna sound insensitive, but have you not met or seen or _heard of_ a Soul Seer since being on the surface?”

“I have heard of them, though it was in passing or as rumors. Soul Seers… seem to be rare?” You pushed your coffee mug away from you, looking down at your barren plate. You hated hearing that. It just reinforced your thoughts and-

“Rare’s one word for it.” You glanced over at Gloria and Frisk; they were both laughing, though Glor’s was audible and Frisk’s was not. “Soul Seers were basically marked as wives’ tales after, oh… When were the Salem Witch Trials? 1692? A lot of Seers went into hiding after that. And if your kid happened to be born with a heart with a weird color somewhere on their body,” you gestured to your neck with your hand, then tilted your head in Glor’s direction, “you were to sterilize them or kill them. Magic was a sin, I guess.”

Toriel covered her mouth, “You’re not serious.”

You shrugged, “It just happened. But, y’know, it was hard to tell the government ‘hey my kid has some residual magic can I get their reproductive organs cut out or kill them’ after a while. So a lot of families that had Seers born into them gave the kid up.” You rolled your eyes, “Promised myself that if I had a Seer kid - or a kid in general - that’d I keep them forever. Be a good mom.”

“You were adopted, then?” You didn’t realize that you had basically insinuated that. You shook your head. “Then…?”

“Eh, no one wants to adopt a Seer kid. Got old enough to leave. Left.” You shrugged, “Best choice ever, honestly. Had I not done it, I wouldn’t’ve gotten my Glor.” You smiled at her before looking back at Toriel. “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you asking this?”

“My Frisk… has a birthmark very similar to yours. To Gloria’s.” You raised your eyebrows. The kids both turned to look at her when she mentioned their names. Frisk (who you noticed had not opened their eyes at all) furrowed their eyebrows together. Mother and child stared at each other for a moment, until Toriel said, “Please, Frisk, please show them.”

Another moment of silence.

Gloria interjected, saying, “What! You have a birthmark, too!? Can I see?” You were confused as to how she knew what was happening - oh. The Sight faded the world out, but a bright red soul with thick cracks glowed out of Frisk. You wondered what had happened to cause such deep cracks. The weird thing was… the cracks seemed to let a variety of colors out rather than just stay inky black. If you could, you’d love to look at that later.

Curiously, you glanced at Toriel’s soul - you hadn’t actually seen a monster soul since they’ve gotten to the surface, oops - and were happy to find that it was a pastel green. A virtuous kind soul, huh? You honestly weren’t surprised; from the seven minutes you had been talking to her, you could just tell.

But then you heard a very distinct voice, one you hadn’t heard before, speak. “ _I’m scared, Mom._ ” You looked back at Frisk’s soul, seeing it pulse in time to their words.

You reached across the table and set a hand on Frisk’s shoulder. The sweater they wore hid their size quite well, actually. They were very small. “Frisk, do you know that you have a very beautiful soul?” They visibly startled, their eyebrows pulling together from surprise. “Despite the fact that it’s so cracked, it’s glowing strongly. You’re very strong, huh?”

“Mama…” You grinned at Gloria, patting her head before looking back at Frisk.

“Your mom’s just trying to help you. I know how scary it can be, finding others with the same birthmark. I didn’t have anyone to help me stop Seeing for a long time.” They looked like they were about to cry. “Your mom’s been helping you try to stop Seeing souls all the time, right?”

“ _Y-yeah…_ ”

“Well, I’ll try to help you, too. Can I please see your birthmark? I’d like to show you something, real quick.”

Their soul stuttered for a second - hesitance, you knew - before the rolled up their sleeve slightly. On their wrist was a red-tinged heart. You blinked, watching as a very small, luminescent rainbow spilled from around the birthmark. “ _What’re you gonna show me?_ ”

“Gloria and I like to do this with each other. It’s a good way of passing positive emotions.” You took their wrist and pressed it against your birthmark. A spark of magic went through you, filling you with determination. Frisk visibly calmed, slumping back into their seat. You released their hand, “Okay, thanks for letting me show you that. Thanks for showing me your birthmark.”

“ _You’re welcome, Mama G._ ” You grinned at them. They smiled back.

Toriel turned to look at you, smiling gently. “You…”

“Eh? What?”

“We should really exchange numbers. I, if you don’t mind, I would like to become friends with you.”

“And me?”

She grinned at Gloria, “Yes, and you too, little Gloria.” Your daughter high-fived Frisk. (Their souls were already affecting each other. It was cute.) You looked back at Toriel. “I would also like to enlist your help with helping Frisk learn about their… Soul Seeing abilities. I’ll reimburse you, of course.”

Your smile widened, “Oh. Wow. That is.” You ran a hand through your hair, wincing when you pulled your eyebrow piercing on a strand. “That is incredibly… Wow.” Toriel wanted to be your friend and teach her kid. “Uh, well. If you want, we can do the friend thing and the teaching thing at the same time.” She looked intrigued. “We can set up days where you bring Frisk over for me to teach them. You can “reimburse” me by bringing over some snacks, since Gloria’s gonna end up helping Frisk, too.”

Toriel reached across the table and took your hand into her two big fluffy paws. “You are very, wonderfully kind.”

For some reason, you felt especially comfortable in Toriel’s presence. You weren’t able to see the future, but you were able to see the culmination of one’s very being. Sometimes that was better. This was one of those times; you knew she was going to be a close friend, but you didn’t know what this friendship had in store. “Same to you, Toriel. Same to you.”

You mentally checked off that you weren’t going to have to ask about how Frisk communicated when you remembered it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whispers* i was hoping to get sans or gaster in this chapter, but it was getting _too damn long_ , so sorry.
> 
>  
> 
> [soul seer doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ryi2sGFbp6deel9-WuE8M4LxXezuK6g2wcmhkfAocPw/edit?usp=sharing)


	3. Exposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Insomnia keeps you awake to think about a good friend.
> 
> ...then a violet soul makes an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy! There's a lot of backstory in this chapter, but there's also some new stuff. (I like this story because of the world building I get to do.) I listened to '[His Theme (Slow Build Up Loop Ver.)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02w3IBKxkBQ)' the entire time, because it captured exactly what I wanted to feel in this chapter. That kind of sad, happy, sentimental feeling you get when thinking about a loved one.
> 
>  
> 
> ***IMPORTANT* Gonna try to set late Sunday nights/early Monday mornings as firm update day(s), maybe updating during the week if I'm really excited to push a couple chapters out. Cool?**
> 
>  
> 
> I drew some Mama G and Gloria concept(-ish?) art, found [here](http://radikewwll.deviantart.com/art/Mama-G-and-Gloria-Character-Concepts-616463802) (Fan Art is accepted, by the way? Though I don't think this will get popular enough, lol. If you make some, feel free to comment the link, I'll definitely put it up.)
> 
>  
> 
> [soul seer doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ryi2sGFbp6deel9-WuE8M4LxXezuK6g2wcmhkfAocPw/edit?usp=sharing)

It was 1:39 in the morning, and you could not sleep.

It wasn’t new for you, the whole ‘not sleeping’ thing. You had been around the block with it a time or two (or for the last five and a half years, if you wanted to be completely accurate), but it only happened when everything was calm and nothing bad was happening in your life. Sometimes, you thanked your insomnia for being considerate enough to not add to your stress. Other times, you wished that all the bad things would just happen at the same time.

This was one of the nights you thanked your insomnia, mostly because you could hear Gloria and Frisk’s soft breathing from across the hall. Since you and Toriel had become close, the two had practically spent every waking moment with each other. It warmed your heart to see how Gloria and Frisk interacted. They reminded you of…

Well, you and him.

_“Darren, you brought me out for coffee because you wanna have a kid? Dude, talk to your girlfriend about this. I just wanted coffee.” You sighed, pushing hair behind your ear. A few pieces got caught on the ring around the top; you groaned and yanked at it._

_Your best friend looked at you, brown eyes sorrowful. “You don’t get it, G, she **doesn’t** want a kid. She’s made that clear - every time I even mention something kid-related she goes off on a tangent! **I’m** forcing my ideals on her, **I’m** feeding the baby-industry, **I’m** not willing to be different! But she goes out of her way to tell her friends - **my** friends, too - how babies are the worst and that they’re losing out on freedom.” He sighed into his mug, thick black eyebrows drawn together._

_You looked at him, setting your head in the palm of your right hand. His black curls hung in his face, hiding a particularly small, yellow-tinged Soul Seer birthmark. Darren had been your best friend since middle school, a Soul Seer from a family of Seers. He and his family had been the ones to help teach you about Seeing. He had wanted kids since forever. “I just… Don’t get it, Darren.” Big brown eyes looked back up at you. “Why do you stay with her if she’s like this?”_

_He looked at his mug, staring at the coffee within it. Hesitantly, he responded with, “I love her, G…”_

_You looked at him skeptically, lifting a ceramic mug to your mouth. Before taking a drink, you said, “You sure?” He blinked at this, staring at you as if the thought of **not** loving her had never crossed his mind. You set your mug down, reaching for a thing of creamer, two packets of sugar, and a spoon. As you opened the additives and mixed them in, you continued, “Look, Darren. I’ve been your best friend for nearly thirteen years. You have ranted and raved about what you want to name your kids, what you want to do for them, **how** you want to treat them. I’m just saying, that’s been a big part of you for forever now. If you truly love her, then stay with her. But… she won’t even stop to consider you. So. Do you really love her?”_

_You sipped from your coffee, finding that it still wasn’t sweet enough. Darren nodded (more to himself than anything you had asked), but grinned at your grimace. “You’re gonna need to start drinking big-girl coffee if you’re gonna go into those history courses. You wanna be a proper historian, don’t you?” he teased, purposefully taking down a large gulp of coffee._

_You stuck your tongue out, “How you’re able to stand black coffee is beyond me, Darren. It’s just…. Bean juice.”_

_“ **Yours** is still bean juice, too!” he whined._

_”Bean juice with milk and sugar, thank you very much,” you replied haughtily. He laughed at your response, skin beside his eyes wrinkling. As you laughed with him, all you could think was how Darren was your very best friend._

You rolled over, hair falling in front of your eyes. Your window faced Mt.Ebott, giving you a beautiful view of the mountain being backlit by the moon. You wondered faintly if anyone else was staring at the moon, too. Someone that would be important to you, or Gloria, or Frisk, or Toriel.

A small sigh escaped you before you closed your eyes. Thinking of him always made you happy. And sleepy, too, but mostly happy. He was your best friend through everything, and he would always be your best friend.

_“G, I have an idea!”_

_You turned your head when Darren called out to you, looking at him curiously from your spot by the bus stop. Your s’mores poptart was caught between your teeth as you struggled with adjusting the sock that was falling off inside your shoe. You vaguely wondered if he would comment on it; you had no doubt that you looked like one of his anime girls. (The sheer amount of ‘I’M LATE FOR ANIME SCHOOL’ photos on your phone were stupid.) He panted as he ended up beside you, a sweaty shine to his skin._

_Once your sock was fixed, you grabbed your poptart from your mouth and said, “And that idea is **what** , Darren?” You winced at the sharpness in your voice; you hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep, as your roommate had brought her girlfriend over and begged you to do a reading on their souls. (They had kept asking for more and more details about every little thing.) You sighed, not wanting to look at his ‘kicked puppy’ expression. “Sorry, not a lot of sleep. Anyways, what’s up?”_

_You didn’t have to look up to see his shoulder straighten, already feeling his goofy grin on you. When you did look up, you had to look away. He was basically **radiating**. “Well, I broke up with Melissa.” You nodded, looking at him from the corner of your eye as you bit into your poptart. Before you could say ‘good job’, he said, “And I think that we should have a kid.”_

_Poptart in the throat. Poptart in the throat. You hacked, slamming a fist into your chest to try and dislodge the sinful pastry. He stared at you, face full of worry as you coughed and gagged. You were going to die because of a poptart. Holy-_

_Oh. There it goes. Now…_

_You turned to look at him, eyes open wide. “What the **fuck** did you just say, Darren?” He blinked innocently. Where the hell was this coming from? He was your best friend, you didn’t **love** him that way! “W-we aren’t romantically involved or - or anything!”_

_He smiled again, “I know we aren’t. And that’s why we should have a kid.” You hoped your face said ‘you lost me’ because you didn’t think you could speak. He caught it, “We love each other, but we aren’t romantically involved because we don’t love each other romantically. But I was thinking about it, G. If we have a kid together, we can support each other and them. We won’t have to deal with a lot of things ‘couples’ have to deal with. And, well, I think it’s a good idea. I mean, we’ve slept with each other before and I just. I don’t **want** to be romantically involved with you? Or anyone? But I want a kid.”_

_“Then adopt?” you wheezed. What the fuck was going through his head. “Like, Darren, I told you that I would like to have a kid, but I don’t need to. And, shit, I just-”_

_“But then we could be a family? Without the bullshit ‘marriage’ and stuff.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and tilted his head back, looking at the sky so he didn’t have to stare at you. “I get it if this is weird and you want to **not** be my friend any more. But it makes sense to me? For us to have a kid but not be romantically involved.”_

_You looked down and away, eyes landing on your poptart. You dropped that…? Then, you looked back up at him. “I’m not gonna stop being your friend because you said this. Like… Let me think about it for a while, okay? It… might not be a bad idea.”_

_You had to look away again because of his bright smile. You just hoped he couldn’t see the one growing on your face._

Your hand fell off of your bed, fingertips skittering against the floor. You never loved Darren romantically, and you never would. You always knew that, and he knew that. That’s why you two had Gloria together. There was a strange… satisfaction with knowing that you two loved each other enough to produce life, even though it wasn’t a conventional kind of love.

_Sitting in a hospital room with Darren was weird. You had done it plenty of times (thirteen years), but it was still weird. There was a kind of quiet that laid overtop of you two, like a wet blanket or flower pollen. Not soft or enjoyable. Just stuffy._

_A nurse walked in with a clipboard, perturbed look on her face morphing into an almost natural-looking fake smile when she saw you laying on the bed. Your stomach was puffed out; you ran your hands over it, feeling your child kick. A maternal instinct fell over you, smiling softly at your belly. “Miss?” You looked up, raising your eyebrow at her curiously. Well, curiously for you. She shrunk back slightly. “The technician looked over the ultrasounds a couple more times, since he couldn’t confirm the gender when it was on the screen.”_

_You waited patiently. She didn’t say anything. “...and?”_

_“Oh!” She grinned, handing you printed copies of the ultrasound. “It’s a girl!”_

_You blinked, seeing a pink highlighter circle around the genital area of your baby. Well, there wasn’t a penis there, so it was **more than likely** a girl._

You grinned at the memory, lifting your hand back up to the bed. Your eyes went back to the phone on your bedside table. With a soft groan, you moved and grabbed it. It read ‘2:37’ across the screen. Had you really been down memory lane for so long?

You set it down and tried to decide if you should force yourself to be still and fake sleep. You crossed your arms, closed your eyes, trying hard to decide. You could check up on the kids, right? They probably needed that.

You slowly stood up, rolling your shoulders and adjusting your tank top as you walked towards Gloria’s room. You let the world around you fade, the darkness growing darker yet as the Sight started. The blue of your soul offered some pseudo-light, only visible in the grayness of the Sight. You yawned (there was the sleepiness you needed) as you poked your head into her room.

You stopped mid-yawn, chilled by what you were seeing. There were three souls near the bed. The cracked rainbow red of Frisk’s soul, the hunter green with blue of Gloria’s soul, and… a violet soul with glitch-like black boxes over it. You could make out a figure around the soul, but it was… weird.

The minimal magic within you froze and you felt a crackle of it pop around your birthmark. The figure turned, revealing a stark-white face that looked at you. You had a feeling that you were witnessing something wrong. The Sight faded quickly; the figure wasn’t in the physical plane of existence. You called it back, forcing the gray to fade your world once again. The figure was closer, glitching violet soul shaking oddly.

“You,” you whispered, “I don’t appreciate creeps watching my kids.” You reached out, coaxing the soul into your grasp. The figure’s face contorted awkwardly, watching as you reached into one of the glitchy black boxes and hooked into its soul. You pulled the soul, feeling strangely powerful for being able to tug its soul away from the room.

The figure followed quietly, which you were thankful for. You didn’t need a paranormal hustle in the hallway. When you were in your room, you shut the door and threw the soul into the middle of the floor. The figure glitched out of existence for a brief second, reappearing with the soul. You pointed at it, running off of motherly adrenaline.

“I have no idea who or _what_ you are, but I want answers. Are you gonna hurt my kids?”

A strange laughter shook the room; it sounded like a man’s laughter was put into a broken computer. You didn’t need this shit. “ **N oOo, I aM-Am-AM noOoT goiNNg to hUR-HuR-HURT the chill-chill-children.** ” There was a cough. “ **Oh, I do forget how rusty my voice gets when I haven’t used it.** ”

You looked at the figure like you were seeing it for the first time. A stark white face with two black holes for eyes, with white lights for pupils. Cracks going up above one eye and down the other. Skeletal floating hands with holes in the palms. Goopy, drippy black body. No legs or feet. “You… you can talk?” You tilted your head.

“ **Yes, I can. I didn’t realize that you were in this timeline, Mama G, though I should’ve, what with Gloria’s involvement.** ” A stupefied blink. Timeline? “ **Ah, for shame, I haven’t introduced myself. I am Doctor W.D. Gaster. Former Royal Scientist and being trapped in the existential nightmare that is the void.** ” Void? “ **You have questions for me.** ” Phrased like a question, said like a statement.

“What the hell are you doing in my house?” you hissed when reality slapped you in the face. “And _void_? I’ve heard tales among the community but, _the VOID_?”

The figure - W.D. Gaster, apparently - laughed again. “ **Yes, well, I’ve heard tales that some Seers can see souls trapped within the void. I suppose you’re one of them.** ” He casted a look down to your soul. “ **Though, I have a theory that it might have to do with the void within your soul…** ”

You wanted to approach that, but…

“You still didn’t answer my first question. What are you doing in. My. House.”

“ **Looking.** ”

“For _what_ , exactly?”

“ **For a Seer.** ”

“You’ve found one, _Doctor W.D. Gaster_!”

“ **Well, I suppose I have.** ” Gaster looked around himself. “ **Hmm. Your house isn’t as small in this timeline.** ” He shrugged (you guessed? He didn’t have shoulders) and looked back at you. “ **Well, now that I’ve found you, I suppose I should explain why I was looking for you.** ”

“Yes. You should.”

“ **...would you like to sit down for this? You looked tired.** ”

“Oh. Shit, yeah, sleep.” You walked over and grabbed your phone, looking at the time. ‘3:00’ was displayed across the screen. “Uh.” You looked back at him, “I’m assuming that, now that you’ve found me, you’ll be needing me?” He nodded his strange head. “Okay, well. Make yourself comfortable. I’m gonna try to go to sleep.”

Another chuckle filled the room, not sounding as robotic. “ **You are still as peculiar, though. Goodnight, Mama G.** ”

Before you could stop yourself, you muttered a rushed, “Yeah, night.” Then you fell into bed. Before you closed your eyes, you murmured, “Stay out of Gloria’s room.”

“ **Yes, yes. I’ll be sitting over here.** ”

You watched as he settled his body into your plush red armchair (wondering if he actually needed to sit, if he was a being caught in the void, but putting that in the ‘remember later’ part of your brain), then closed your eyes.

You fell asleep in moments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh jeez, that was a lot to take in
> 
> Tags added this chapter: **toriel is mama g's new friend, frisk and gloria are bffs, dead!OC, gloria's dad, nonromantic relationship, nonromantic conception, just friends having a kid, gaster is cool, weird but cool, dapper skeleton dad, dapper gaster, dapster**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> [mama g and gloria concepts](http://radikewwll.deviantart.com/art/Mama-G-and-Gloria-Character-Concepts-616463802)  
> [soul seer doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ryi2sGFbp6deel9-WuE8M4LxXezuK6g2wcmhkfAocPw/edit?usp=sharing)


	4. Toast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Breakfast with a Voidcreature and two kids is weird.
> 
> Oh wait, so is the skeleton knocking on your door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a few things:
> 
> I'm so sorry. I literally said 'lol sundays/mondays update days' and then. lied.  
> with good(-ish?) reason!  
> i was super depressed and couldn't do anything. like, for real. the depression just laid on my chest and was like 'radikewwll, you need a break.'  
> 'i don't want a break!'  
> 'too fucking bad.'  
> i finally got out of it by doodling mama g and sans. really sorry, yo.
> 
> this chapter wasn't supposed to go this way, but i felt super bad about not introducing sans yet so i tweaked a few things. :D it's a super short introduction but that means more time with him next chapter, aight?
> 
> anyway... @coreplant  
> gaster came from the toaster, yo. all you, babu.
> 
>  
> 
> [mama g and gloria concepts](http://radikewwll.deviantart.com/art/Mama-G-and-Gloria-Character-Concepts-616463802)  
> [soul seer doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ryi2sGFbp6deel9-WuE8M4LxXezuK6g2wcmhkfAocPw/edit?usp=sharing)

You could hear Gloria and Frisk down the hallway; well, more accurately, you heard Gloria mumble and laugh to Frisk. You reached for your phone blindly, turning the screen on when you grasped it. ‘7:53’. How Gloria was able to get Frisk involved with her destiny was beyond you. You didn’t think anyone but you would’ve been able to deal with her so early.

With a groan, you rolled towards your door to wait for the two of them to walk in. You rubbed the sleep from your eyes; staying up until three was a mistake. Why had you been up that late again? Oh, wait, Voidman. He was a thing from last night. You sat up and let the colors around you fade, turning your head to look at your armchair. He wasn’t there.

You blinked and looked towards the door. You could hear Frisk’s voice responding to Gloria now; something about body slamming you… Wait. Kicking your blankets off (and deciding that you could deal with finding - Gaster was his name, right? - Gaster later), you stood up and walked towards your door. You leaned out and saw the two sitting beside your door, huddled together for warmth.

Maternal affection washed over you as you said, “What was that about body slamming me, Frisk?” Their heads shot up and they looked at you in surprise. Frisk wasn’t quite used to opening their eyes all the way yet, still unfamiliar with adjusting their Sight, but their brown eyes twinkled with mischievousness.

An echoing voice came from their soul (you and Toriel doubted that Frisk would ever _truly_ speak), “ _You weren’t awake and we want breakfast, Auntie G._ ”

Gloria joined in, “Yeah, Mama! Breakfast. We want that, please!” You grinned at their adorableness.

“Well, I _suppose_ we can do that. What do we want for breakfast on this fine Saturday?” you asked, stepping out of your room to crouch in front of them. A shared look between the two of them, but Gloria looked at you with her bright green eyes and smiled widely again.

She said firmly, “Pancakes and bacon.” You nodded, standing up before offering them your hands. Each took one, and you led them into the kitchen. While you tugged them along, Frisk had pulled their cell phone from their sleep pants’ pocket and tapped along it. Gloria looked at them, expression half-jealous-half-awed. “Whatcha doin’, Frisky?” she asked, letting go of your hand to walk closer to them.

“ _Mom texted me pretty early,_ ” they responded, opening the text.

“Earlier than Gloria getting up?” you shot back jokingly, letting go of Frisk’s hand as you stepped into the kitchen. You walked to the pantry and pulled out a box of pancake mix, then wandered around the kitchen to get everything you’d need for pancakes (a griddle, a couple eggs, some milk, cinnamon, and vanilla).

Frisk’s soul hummed a response as they read over the text. Gloria was leaning against them, a couple inches too short to see what was on the phone. She whined before walking away to climb into her chair. “ _Oh jeez._ ”

“What’s up?” You glanced over your shoulder, seeing Frisk running a hand through their hair. Eyebrows scrunched together and teeth biting at their lip, they looked upset. You set the egg in your hand back on the counter, turning around. “Frisk, you okay, kiddo?”

Gloria looked at them, frowning worriedly. “Frisk?” she asked quietly, scooting towards the edge of her chair.

“ _No, **I’m** okay. There… Mom said there was a break-in at the Embassy. Fortunately, Pap was there so nothing was stolen or broken too bad, but there was a lot of graffiti… She doesn’t have time to come get me today._ ” They sighed, “ _Is… it bad for me to say that I… I **hate** the people that do this? The monsters - **my family** \- has been here for almost three years! They’ve been given full rights and-and! Gloria’s my best friend, too._ ”

At this, your daughter shot off her chair and barreled into Frisk, knocking them into the floor with a tight hug. “You’re my best friend, Frisk! The bestest one!” She held them tightly, “You and Aunt Toriel have been so good to Mama and I. I know everyone will know that monsters are super nice soon, too!” She stepped back, taking their hands into her own and bouncing slightly, “And I’ll help prove it! I’ll go to those parade things and all the special projects! ...With you, please?”

Frisk laughed slightly, “ _Of course with me! I’ll have to ask Undyne for training, though! Don’t want you to get hurt._ ”

Gloria bounced some more, “Ohhh! You should have Undyne train me, too, Frisk!”

That was a new name. “Undyne?” you asked, tilting your head. Frisk turned to you and grinned.

“ _Yeah, Undyne! She was the head of Asgore’s Royal Guard in the underground. She’s super strong and super nice!_ ” You smiled at them; clearly this was a friend of theirs. “ _I wonder if I can get Mom to let Undyne come pick me up? Since her school’s opening up this year, Mom was able to convince Undyne to come be the gym teacher, so she’s local again!_ ” You nodded and stood up, stretching your back before you went back to making pancakes. Crisis averted.

Your stomach grumbled as the kids talked, so you went for the bread box on the counter and grabbed a slice of bread out. While the griddle warmed up, you slid the bread into the toaster - _holy shit._

Blackness dripped from the toaster, but upwards. You stared at it and the conversation behind you fell silent. “Mama?” Gloria asked, voice quiet.

A white face pulled from the ooze. You blinked before glaring at it, “Gaster you sonofabitch!” Gaster blinked one eye at a time, his smile faltering slightly. His glitchy purple soul appeared with him, and you grabbed it and pulled him from the toaster. Frisk and Gloria watched as you set your hands on your hips and yelled at the monster before you. “The _toaster!? REALLY!?_ If you wanted to talk you should NOT be in the toaster.”

“Mama-”

“ **G-** ”

“I swear to GOD? Why in the world would you sit in _my toaster!?_ ”

A gray flush appeared on his white face, “ **It was… comfortable.** ” You threw your head back and groaned; you hated getting worked up over this, but you weren’t feeling up to dealing with a Voidcreature on four hours of sleep. “ **But, hello again, G.** ” He glanced at the kids, weird bone hands materializing to wave at them. “ **Frisk, nice to see you once again. And, hello Gloria! You two were sleeping quite soundly last night.** ”

Frisk was no longer flabbergasted, shoving their phone into their pocket and huffing angrily. “ _So you decide to show up **now**!?_ ” You were super confused.

“And how do you know we were sleeping soundly last night?” Gloria asked.

“ **I watched, dear.** ”

“ _That’s creepy._ ”

You rubbed your head and sighed, leaning against the counter. “Well, I guess we can’t have that conversation right now. Excitement and all… Can you eat food?”

Gaster tilted his head (managing to remind you of No-Face), “ **Why are you asking?** ”

“I’m making breakfast and I figured you’d be here for a while. I thought it was a common practice to offer food to guests?” You shrugged meekly and turned back to the griddle, which was super warm. You scooped pancake batter onto it and waited.

It was silent for a few moments.

“ **I… can not eat, but if you wouldn’t mind me sitting in, that would be wonderful.** ” You shrugged again. That seemed to be the cue for movement, as the kids climbed into chairs and you hummed while you cooked.

After the pancakes were done, you started on the bacon. It only took a few minutes to fry. Once everything was done, you set it on three plates and carried them over. Gloria had gotten up to get forks (and syrup), so you could sit down and eat comfortably.

Frisk and Gloria talked excitedly, something about Frisk being chased by Undyne throughout the underground, while you just stared pointedly at Gaster. He was twiddling his thumbs nervously, trying to look anywhere but you. You chewed on a bite of pancake slowly, trying to get a read on him and his soul. Again, it was purple and glitchy. But, it was bright purple; so his soul was balanced. Though the black boxes glitched, switching between shapes and sizes as the laid over his soul.

A balanced soul of perseverance, huh? Well, you didn’t know much about him, but it seemed to fit. You wondered how he became apart of the Void. And why he looked so… boney.

You voiced your questions, “So, I don’t know if this is rude or not, but what kind of monster were you before you became apart of the Void?” He stared at you, the tapped the side of his head with his fingers. The tapping made a soft ‘clink’ as he did so.

“ **Skeleton monster. I was the Royal Scientist, before I was taken out of existence.** ” You nodded, setting your fork down and leaning forward. “ **I… fell into the Core in the underground. It ran off of a concentrated amount of magical energy, cycling through fast enough to create a source of energy for the underground. That concentrated amount of magic was enough to tear me out of existence.** ”

Frisk said, “ _And ‘tear you’ from everyone’s memories._ ”

Gaster nodded in their direction, “ **That too. Existence is a fickle thing; you might be dead, but you do still exist. Your physical remains forever lie with the earth, atoms and molecules apart of the world. Your mental and emotional remains lie in the hearts of those that loved you. You exist to them. The Void is where things that no longer exist go.** ”

“...huh.” You took a bite of bacon. “Interesting. And certain Seers can see you why?”

He looked between the three of you, holding up two fingers, “ **I have two theories. One is that Seers that play an important role in certain timelines will be able to see me. The other involves your… soul-based imperfections.** ” You all looked down at your souls before looking back at him.

“ **The strongest of souls can be damaged, and the power I feel coming from all of your souls is immense.** ” He pointed at Frisk’s soul, “ **From the struggles you faced before and after falling,** ” he pointed to your soul, “ **from the emotional turmoil you felt when your loved ones were injured,** ” he pointed to Gloria’s, “ **to the void in your soul that was filled with your mother’s love. The Void is in all of you, and I have a strong feeling that it is acting a link between our different planes of existence.** ”

Silence fell over your group once more. It wasn’t uncomfortable; more like it was a thoughtful silence. You were linked with the two children and the Voidcreature because of the void in your soul, stemming from the cracks within it.

The silence was ended when Frisk’s phone started vibrating. They picked it up, saw that it was a phone call, and handed it to Gloria. You saw the flash of anxiety in your daughter’s eyes, but she pressed the phone against her ear. “Hello?” she asked softly. “Yes, this is Gloria... Yes, the same Gloria that Frisk hangs out with all the time… Oh, you’re coming to pick Frisk up? ...okay, here’s my mama.”

The phone was passed to you, “Mama G, how can I help you?” You mentally cringed at the business-y sound to your voice. You typically reserved that for clients.

“uh, hi. you’re the lady taking care of frisk, right?” The voice was masculine.

“Yeah?”

“cool. i’ll be there soon to pick the kid up.”

“Okay, we’re finishing up breakfast. What’s your name, by the way?”

“oh, uh. it’s sans...”

There was a very loud knock at your front door (you could hear it through the floor). Gaster whipped his head around, a flash of purple illuminating his left eye as he stared at seemingly nothing. You walked towards the stairs, frowning when the phone made a dial-up sound. He hung up. With a shrug, you assumed ‘Sans’ would be at your house soon. For now, you had someone else to deal with.

You walked down the stairs, pushing the curtain aside as you walked to your door. You let the Sight fade, giving your eyes a break. When you opened the door, you blinked down at another skeleton. He grinned up at you, small white pinpricks examining you. He introduced himself, “sans the skeleton.”

You looked around your property, seeing no cars or busses or any kind of vehicular transport. You stared at him skeptically. “Uh-huh… Mama G. You’re here for Frisk, yeah?” He nodded. You stepped to the side, “Come in.”

This guy could give you a bad time. You didn’t have to look at his soul to know that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [mama g and gloria concepts](http://radikewwll.deviantart.com/art/Mama-G-and-Gloria-Character-Concepts-616463802)   
>  [soul seer doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ryi2sGFbp6deel9-WuE8M4LxXezuK6g2wcmhkfAocPw/edit?usp=sharing)


	5. sans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You thought this skeleton would be alright. Sure, he seemed a little off, but hey - wasn't everybody?
> 
> But then he threw something you weren't expecting your way, and your Integrity got the best of you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...uh hi kids.
> 
> ....it's been awhile, huh? here, take this. ... .. .
> 
> i'm trying my best, lol.

Sans the skeleton stood in the main room of the first floor, hands shoved in his blue hoodie’s pockets. His back was to you, but you could see his head tilt and turn as he looked around the place. You looked around as well; your Seeing room seemed normal enough, but had a strange sense of mysteriousness that hung over top of it.

He shook his head after a moment, looking over his shoulder to glance at you. “where’s the kid at?” You tilted your head towards the black curtain, leading him over and up the stairs to the main hallway. Your Sight faded the colors around you as you turned it ‘on’ to hear Frisk and see Gaster, but you looked at Sans’ soul as you led him to the kitchen. It was a bright blue with cracks of muted blue across it. You hadn’t seen a cracked soul within a monster before…

You stepped into your kitchen/dining room area, seeing Frisk and Gloria standing on the table and wielding their forks. They turned to you, eyes widening before they started to laugh. You huffed exaggeratedly, rubbing your forehead before you walked over and stood before them. “Okay, no more fork fighting.” You grabbed Gloria around the waist, hoisting her under your armpit while you offered Frisk your hand. You glared at them playfully, “You’re the older one, right?”

They giggled (well, their soul did), “ _That I am, Auntie G! But you were taking too long to let Uncle Sans in, and Gloria and I wanted to sword fight!_ ” You rolled your eyes, then realized what they said.

“You knew your uncle was at the door?” you asked, setting Gloria down when she started to squirm.

“ _Yeah. He took a shortcut to get here. He does it with everything, ‘cause he’s lazy._ ” You snorted and looked at the skeleton, who was looking at you three like you were crazy. “ _Oh! I forgot to say hi to him!_ ” Frisk set down their fork, turning to Sans and waving hello. Then they started to move their hands at a breakneck (break wrist?) speed; signing. You forgot that they had to sign to those that couldn’t see or hear their soul.

But Tori could, so you had kinda assumed all monsters could. Then again, you had only seen Frisk and Toriel interact. Maybe it wasn’t a monster thing? Maybe it was a Toriel thing? You pushed that question into the ‘remember later’ part of your brain for the moment.

Sans was talking back to Frisk, but you had zoned out too early to know what they were talking about. Gloria was hiding by your leg, looking at the skeleton with wide eyes and a small smile. She liked skeletons, a _lot._ She had since she was able to walk. But seeing a real life, walking and talking skeleton was freaking her out. Your Gloria was a shy baby with unique interests and this situation wasn’t helping her at all.

You suddenly heard, “ _Auntie G!_ ” You turned to look over your shoulder at Frisk, who was grinning up at you. “ _Can you bring Gloria over here? I want her to meet my uncle!_ ” You nodded, crouching in front of Gloria.

“You wanna go meet Frisk’s uncle?” you asked softly, not wanting to pressure her. She twisted some hair around her face, looking at the ground before locking eyes with you and nodding. You smiled, taking her hand into yours and walking over to Frisk and Sans. She switched from you to their best friend, holding onto their arm while looking up at the skeleton.

“heya, kiddo,” Sans greeted, shoving his hands into his pockets. “heard ya get up early, right? what are ya, some kind of _morning glory?_ ” Your daughter blinked a couple times before getting a wide, silly smile on her face. Sans seemed to like her reaction as he continued, “maybe not so much a flower? maybe you’re your mom’s life blood? her circula _glory_ system, if you would.”

Okay, she had no idea why it was funny, but she heard “glory” and started laughing. You, on the other hand, crossed your arms and sighed. Great. Puns.

Frisk signed to their uncle, all while screaming, “ _Enough! Enough! Stop, please!_ ” Sans grinned and shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets (when did he take them out?). You mouthed a ‘thank god’ to the sky.

Gloria let go of Frisk and walked up to Sans, staring up at him before looking directly at his soul. His eye sockets widened when she stared at it intently. “she’s a seer, too,” he murmured, more to himself than anything else. He knew about Seers, then? Well, that shouldn’t be too surprising. Toriel probably talked about Frisk’s ability to See, and you and Gloria were probably mentioned in passing.

After a moment, your daughter nodded to herself and smiled back up at him. “You’re like my mama, Sans! You’ve got cracks in all the right places!” She shared a look with you, one of love and compassion, and you smiled gently at her. People with cracked souls - human or monster, apparently - felt terrible about it. Cracked souls typically belonged to people that felt weaker… inferior. And sometimes, hearing that those cracks were alright helped people learn to love their “battle scars”. Gloria looked at Frisk next, “Not to say that you don’t have cracks in all the right places, too, Frisky, but. Y’know. Not everyone can have rainbow lights.”

Frisk grinned, “ _Non taken._ ”

When you looked back at Sans, he seemed dumbfounded as he stared at Gloria. Then, as if her words finally rang in his head, he looked up at you. You smiled, knowing that he was curious as to whether your daughter’s words rang true or not. You nodded and lifted and hand to touch your soul, fingers tracing over the cracks and the space around your missing piece. Then you set your hand back down and cracked your neck, showing him the birthmark on it. "We're a family of Seers. Souls are everything to us - it's what we live for."

"you three can see everyone's souls?" he asked as he looked down at the kids, who were discussing something excitedly. They turned to look up at him, smiling brightly.

You walked over and pat their heads, bowing your own as you smiled softly. "If we want to, we can indeed see anyone and everyone's souls. But," you ruffled both kids' hair to their dismay, "I teach them that they have to have permission to do it! We only use our Sight when Frisk is around."

Frisk grinned and jumped to Sans, signing and 'speaking,' " _The Sight allows them to hear my soul! It's amazing, Uncle Sans!_ " The skeleton blinked down at the excited child before looking back to you. You held Gloria close to you, your hands on her shoulders as she stared up at him. The other child turned and smiled at you two, " _Auntie G and Gloria have done nothing but help me with my Sight. Mom loves them just as much as I do - they're good Seers!_ "

Gloria's eyes welled up with tears at the positivity Frisk radiated. "Ah, Frisky, I love you too!" You immediately looked to Sans to gauge his reaction. While he appeared stiff, he did seem to be touched. His soul hummed softly as the two hugged. After a moment, your baby pulled back and rubbed her eyes. "You're my first real friend ever, Frisk. Thank you so much!"

"Glor, Frisk." At your voice, they looked at you. "Why don't you get your stuff together to go with your uncle Sans, Frisk? And Gloria, help them out, okay?" The kids looked to each other and grinned before running off towards Gloria's room. Once they were out of sight, you let your Sight fade so you could look at Sans properly. The white lights in his eyes looked up at you pointedly, gauging you as you did him. "I genuinely love Frisk and Toriel like they're my family. They've both gone out of their way to be nothing but kind and helpful - which is a lot, considering the fact that Toriel is the ex-Queen of all Monsters and Frisk is the Ambassador." You had no idea why you were telling him all this. But you felt like you needed to defend your love for the mother and child.

"...you and your kid are the only human parent-child pair that tori and frisk have ever interacted with. even in our two years up here, no one has been…" He searched for the right word. "no one has been honest or genuine with them. but your kid seems to get frisk, and you seem to get tori."

"I know how scary it can be to have the Sight and not know what to do with it, and I know how scary it can be to not know how to help your child." You placed a hand over your heart, glancing at him. "Did you know that humans, because of how strong we are, can give up part of their soul to heal a break in a loved one's soul?"

This definitely caught his attention. "your kid… has part of your soul?" The white lights in his eyes grew wider. "how the hell did you pull that off?"

You grinned widely, a knowing smile you rarely let anyone see. You knew this would catch his interest. "My soul is a balanced blue soul - Integrity. You know what comes with that soul type, though, right?" He looked up at you, white pupils tightening up. Fear? Excitement? You didn't know what could cause that reaction. The Sight faded the world once again. "I know monsters view souls are very special and intimate things, so I'll give you verbal permission to view mine."

His left eye lit up, flickering between the yellow color of justice and the cyan blue of patience. How could you tell that? That color should be muted! Unless that was… magic? "...is nothing sacred up here?" he muttered to himself. You swore that there was more of that integrity-colored blue dusting his cheeks. A blush, huh? From viewing your soul?

...this skeleton was precious. Somehow.

You pressed your hand to your chest and drew your soul out once again. He shook when he saw the gaping black hole in the middle of it. He almost looked… ill? Your soul still shined brightly, despite the darkness. "Because of my Integrity - my morals, if you would - I fought to save Gloria. She and her father were in an accident when she was younger. Her father died and she was put into critical care… You've heard this kind of story before, right?"

"it's a tale as old as time. a mother that cares about her child will do anything when her child is on the verge of death… will find anyway to save them." He was staring directly into your soul, judging it openly. "you don't have an EXP, and your LV is at one… Your HP is especially high, though, which is amazing considering the hole in your soul."

"EXP… LV… HP?" Sans seemed to only just realize what he said, as he opened his bone jaw to respond. You shook your head. "Nah. Don't tell me right now. We can talk later or something. I just want you to know that I know the kind of pain Toriel was and _is_ going through with Frisk and their Seeing. Although I can tell you're a bit hesitant to my girlie and I, I promise that we don't have any ulterior motives."

Those white lights looked back to your face again, but there was something different about them this time. It was as if they were taking you in for _real._ "yeah, i know." The magic faded from his left eye, and you took that to mean that you could put your soul away. "you have a very honest blue soul - lying isn't something you approve of."

You rolled your shoulders and turned your head to glance down the hallway. You could hear the two kids talking to one another. "You could say that. Liars and bigots are the worst."

Sans let out a dry chuckle. "...well, i guess this went well then. i guess you and gloria can hang around frisk all you want." He lifted his bone-hands above his head in mock-excitement and surprise. "you've got my approval and toriel's. you two are gold."

You gave him a cold look. His smirk fell slightly. "...I didn't realize I needed your approval. I thought Toriel was Frisk's parent, not you." The somewhat soft mood from before froze. You didn't need some skeleton's approval. _Gloria_ especially so! She was but a baby - she only wanted to be Frisk's friend! You only wanted to help Frisk grow! You wanted to befriend Toriel and help her when you could! You certainly didn't need some skeleton's approval!

" _Woah, Auntie, your soul is all fired up._ " Your gaze went to Frisk and Gloria, who stood at the end of the hallway with all of Frisk's stuff. They immediately looked to Sans, their brows furrowing as they dropped their stuff to sign. " _What did you say to Auntie G?_ "

"you assumin' i did somethin', kiddo?" Oh and now the skeleton's white lights were gone, leaving only black eye sockets in their place. Gloria didn't like that - she squeaked softly. Frisk stood in front of her.

" _I'm assuming you're being a jerk again! You always do this when someone new enters the picture!_ " They huffed. " _Auntie G and Gloria are the only humans that like Mom and I for who we are. So you don't get to come say something mean to new members of our family!_ "

Sans audibly grit his teeth. Ah, shit, this was getting out of hand. "Look, Sans." He turned to you. You stared at him firmly. "I don't need anyone's approval to 'hang around Frisk all I want.' My daughter certainly doesn't, either. Toriel is my friend, and Gloria is Frisk's friend. The only approval I need - if any - is whether or not Tori is alright with me giving Frisk a Coke with dinner." You could probably save this botched interaction. Maybe.

A silence fell over the four of you. Sans was the first to speak. "frisk isn't allowed to have soda after seven, so if dinner's before then, you're fine." At this, you blinked down at him. His soul had put up some kind of barrier; you could see it and acknowledge that it was there, but you could no longer feel any of the emotion on it. He was powerful with controlling his soul.

Part of you wanted to continue to go off on him, but your more logical side saw the out he was giving you. That he was giving _the both_ of you. "Alright then. Duly noted." You turned to look at Frisk and Gloria; the older still stood in front of the younger protectively, holding her hand to comfort her. You sighed and walked towards them, getting down on your knees to address them both. "It was just a little bickering among adults, kids. It happens a lot. While I don't agree with what he said," you tossed a look at Sans before looking to Frisk, "I understand that it probably comes from a place of love."

Gloria looked to Frisk, "He's your uncle, right? He's tryin' to keep you safe like Aunt Tori does. Like me and Mama do!"

" _Yeah… Yeah! He's tryna keep me safe! But he doesn't need to be a jerk to our new family._ " You gave Frisk a soft, maternal smile at 'new family.' Gloria hugged them. " _What? What's this? I know I'm leaving soon, but you never hug me this tight._ "

"Gloria and I don't have family other than you and Tori, Frisk, so it's nice to hear you call us that."

Frisk smiled happily, " _Well, once you meet the rest of our family, you'll have family wherever you go! You'll never be lonely again!_ "

You stood up and pat their head. "You're a sweetie, Frisk, but your mom's probably not too happy that you've been kept this long. Let's send you off with your Uncle Sans, alright?" They nodded, picking up their bags and walking towards Sans. He watched as you bent down to hug Frisk, then as Gloria did the same. "We'll see you later this week for more lessons. I'm going to call Toriel later, if you want to talk to Gloria. Love you, Frisky."

" _Love you too, Auntie G!_ "

The two kids started talking among themselves happily, letting you regard Sans. "Well, I hope we can look past this conflict. Frisk talks about you and the others a lot, so I'd hate to be on bad terms with our _extended_ family." You stuck out your palm, "Let's start over for a moment. They call me Mama G, and I'm a Seer with a business. Nice to meet you."

Sans regarded your open hand for a moment before grinning and slapping his own boney hand into yours. You felt the rubber immediately.

_**pffffftbtbtbtb** _

"the ol' woopie cushion in the hand trick. gets 'em every time." His eye lights were bright white again, and he seemed to have a genuine smile on his face. "sans. sans the skeleton. nice to meet you, too, and thanks for takin' care of frisk and tori."

You nodded. "My pleasure."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [mama g and gloria concepts](http://radikewwll.deviantart.com/art/Mama-G-and-Gloria-Character-Concepts-616463802)   
>  [soul seer doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ryi2sGFbp6deel9-WuE8M4LxXezuK6g2wcmhkfAocPw/edit?usp=sharing)


	6. Jungle Gym

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster reappears, but you go out for dinner with Gloria.
> 
> Although you're hesitant, it seems like Sans might be better than you thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah it's summer you dummies don'tcha know.
> 
> lol let's pray i can stay on this roll plz. #prayforradi

In the evening, after Frisk and Sans had left, Gaster reappeared. You only realized it because he dripped from your ceiling while you were with a client. You managed to stay focused on Mrs.Charlton's soul, even when he came to peer over your shoulder. The older woman would flip out if she thought there was a 'ghost' in the room; she _hated_ the supernatural. She was only _recently_ okay with having you look at her soul.

"Mama G," she said as you twisted her soul in your hands. You looked up at her briefly, seeing her strained face. "It's hurting my chest."

"Sorry," you murmured, letting go of her soul so it floated before her comfortably. Her soul was beautiful; it was an elegant Determined soul, its color the midpoint between balanced and virtuous. Written in her husband's script, the date 'March 21st' glowed on her soul. At an earlier consultation, she had revealed that that was the date she and her husband had gotten married. "Your soul hasn't change, Mrs.Charlton. It isn't cracked at all."

She reached forward and grabbed your hands, causing you to look up at her. She had tears already dripping down her face. "You're sure? It's not cracked? I thought… it'd be cracked for sure…"

You shook your head, feeling Gaster scoot away from you. "Not, it's not cracked at all. Your husband was right; he had married an incredibly strong woman. Aren't you happy he was right, all the way up until the end?" She smiled, her graying hair swaying with her as she started sobbing.

"He was right, he was so _so_ right… My Philip was right…" She placed her hand against her chest. "I promised to stay strong for him and our children… I'm so glad it isn't cracked."

You offered her a small smile. "Would you like to see where it floats?" The older woman nodded, rubbing her tears away before giving you her hands. You moved them to cup the bottom of her soul. "It's right there, beating close to your chest. Your soul is still the same beautiful shade of red. It leans more towards the virtuous side, but its color suggests that you still know how to stand up for yourself."

Her bright smile was beautiful. "I had to know how to give, but I also had to know when to stand strong. You understand that, don't you? With your little girl. It's a motherly thing." You nodded, letting go of her hands to sit back.

"I get it, don't worry… Are there any other questions, then? I've covered all the basics with this visit, but you still have time on the clock." She shook her head and went to stand up. You felt Gaster's stare on your back as you helped her up.

"Nothing more for this visit. You quelled all my worries for the moment, Mama G." Once she was up, she dug into her purse. You watched, raising your pierced eyebrow in curiosity. She had already paid…? She pulled out a twenty and handed it to you. "I know you don't usually accept tips, but please, take this. You really deserve it." You did absolutely nothing different from usual. Mrs.Charlton bowed forward, "I'll be taking my leave then. You and Gloria have a nice evening!"

You waved your goodbyes before turning to Gaster. "You certainly ditched us as soon as the other skeleton popper in." You pocketed the cash as you approached him, 'poking' him in his chest. "Any particular reason?"

He managed to blink at you before turning his head. The black, glitch-like boxes appeared around his face, covering his expression. " **No reason in particular.** " Your eye twitched at his clear lie. He noticed, his drippy shoulders slumping forward. " **Sans is… someone I haven't seen in a long time.** " His white eye lights (Sans had those very same eye lights) looked your way, seeing that you had placed your hands on your hips.

"Who is he to you?" you asked firmly. Gaster didn't respond, instead choosing to look away from you pointedly. You were well aware that he could just drip on out of here, so it looked like he was contemplating whether or not to tell you. You could make a few guesses - they were both skeletons, so they were related or something. But you wanted to hear it from his mouth.

You both turned when you heard loud footsteps coming down the stairs. "MAMA!" Gloria called, popping out of the black curtains with your phone in her hands. She blinked up at you, then looked at Gaster and smiled. "And Gaster! Hi!" Gray-green eyes turned back to you as she handed you the phone. "It's Uncle Sans and Aunt Toriel. Well, Uncle Sans is on the phone right now."

You nodded and smiled at your daughter, "Thanks, Glor. Let me talk to him. You go put your shoes on, we're gonna go to McDonald's for dinner." She smiled brightly before turning on her heels and walking back up the stairs. You shot Gaster a look that said 'don't move' as you put the phone to your ear. "Mama G here. What's up?"

You only partly registered that Gloria had said Sans was on the phone, so it came as a minor surprise to hear his voice. "...she said you just finished up a seeing appointment?"

"Correct. Why?" He sounded off, somehow. You had known the man for all of ten hours (maybe), but he sounded different from earlier.

"no reason. listen, toriel's in the bathroom right now. she just handed me the phone and gave me a 'mom look.'" You made a face; sometimes mothers have to use the bathroom, too. "same look you're makin' right now, probably. but she wants me to ask if you're still serious about enrolling _morning glory_ over there in the co-species school she's started. something about paperwork. "

You blinked before rushing towards the desk you kept as decoration (mostly). The paperwork for Gloria going to the school laid on it, blank. "Holy shit, thank you for giving me the message. I can fill it out tonight and get it to her tomorrow. Tell her I'm so, _so_ sorry. It completely slipped my mind to fill it out."

"no need, i can pop back over tonight and get it. if that's alright." You blinked. 'Popped?' That seemed like such a… strange word to use. But, sure, less gas you had to use.

"Sure, sure. Sounds great. I really need to tell Toriel sorry, too… Try to come by before nine, alright? If you come over immediately, though, Gloria and I will be out. We're getting dinner." You ran a hand through your frazzled hair and stared at the gray-colored ground, looking up when you heard Gloria run down the stairs. You'd have to remind her not to run down the stairs. You put that in the 'remember later' part of your brain.

"oh. uh, yeah. i'll be over… later, then." He probably wasn't expecting that. There was a moment of awkward silence as you helped Glor fix her pigtails. "oh here's toriel kbyeeee."

"Uh - yeah, bye!" You listened as the phone switched hands. (Paws? Hand-to-paw? Whatever.) Once you heard the familiar sigh of Toriel, you started. "I'm so sorry about the paperwork, Toriel. It completely slipped my mind, since I had been planning on homeschooling Glor this year. I'll fill it out tonight - Sans said he'd come out later this evening and get it. I'm so sorry for the delay…"

"It's alright, G. I figured that was what happened. I know I shouldn't have done it, but I did go ahead and reserve her a seat in one of the first grade classrooms. I just need the paperwork now, so I can put her in the system." Bless this goat woman. "I just happened to notice it myself today, so I thought I'd give you a quote-unquote 'gentle reminder.' But then I had to rush off and help Frisk in the bathroom, so Sans was given that job… I heard something happened with him today?"

Ah, Frisk, such a loyal child that told their mother anything and everything. You nodded, more to yourself than anything. Gloria looked up at you expectantly. She wanted to leave just then - though, that's what you get for telling her you two were going to go to McDonald's. "Yeah, something is one way to put it. Mentioned that he 'approved' of us, and… Well, I lost my cool. Something something 'I don't need anyone's approval.' We resolved it like adults, though, don't worry."

"Mama!!" your daughter whined softly.

"...are you in the middle of something? Should I let you go?" Bless this goat woman for being so damn intuitive. She didn't even sound upset at the distraction.

"I was going to take Gloria to McDonald's. I just got tipped, so I thought going out would be nice. She's excited now…" You ran another hand through your hair and flickered your gaze over to Gaster, who had taken a seat in _your_ chair. He had his boney hands in his lap, staring at you expectantly. You had so many people waiting on you (see: three people).

"Ah! Then take her out! You two don't go out very often, if I remember correctly. I can speak to you later - you two go have fun!"

" _Bless you_ , Toriel. I love you so much. Goodnight, then. Tell Frisk we said goodnight to them, too."

"I will. Goodnight, Mama. We love you very much!" You hung the call up, fixing your ponytail lazily before gathering up the clear folder the paperwork was kept in and a black pen. Then you turned to Gaster.

"We'll finish our conversation at a later point, alright?" You pointed to him, giving him your 'no nonsense' look. It was another cold face. He set his bone chin in his palm, regarding you with some kind of smug look.

" **Yes, yes, I'll be here later. With you. And Gloria. And my son.** "

You blinked. "Sans… is your son?" He nodded. You looked at Gloria, who was staring at you two curiously. You turned back to him. "I'm not surprised. Well. Alright then. That's all I wanted to know…" You bowed your head quickly as you said, "Thanks."

"Can we go now, Mama?" Gloria asked, grabbing hold of your hand.

"Yes we can, Gloria. What do you want when we get there?" You two walked out of your house, throwing one last glance to Gaster before letting your Sight fade.

"Chicken nuggets!"

~~~~~

The McDonald's you took Gloria to was the closest one, but it was still a fifteen minute drive away. She didn't care, though, as she got to watch the trees become buildings the closer to Ebott City you got. Once you both were inside and had your food before you, you started filling out her school paperwork.

Fortunately, this McDonald's had a jungle gym inside. She ate her chicken nuggets and apples before asking if she could go play. You smiled and nodded, telling her to be careful before kissing her on her cheek. You kept scribbling away as she went to climb in the plastic. You looked up when you felt the air crackle with something, but you shook it off.

A tap to your shoulder caused you to jump slightly, and you looked at who tapped you. Sans stood behind your booth awkwardly, rolling on his heels. "...are you stalking my daughter and I or something?" you asked, lowering your eyelids to appear more intimidating.

He shook his head, "no, no. toriel said you two were going to be at mcdonald's, and then she said, 'knowing that woman she'll fill it out there.' so i figured i'd save everyone some time and come here. this one's the closest one to your house." You regarded him coolly for a moment before gesturing to the booth across from you.

"Well, if you're not stalking us, that's fine. Sit down. I'm almost done with the paperwork. While you're here, you can keep an eye on Gloria so I can focus on this."

"an eye socket."

Your eye twitched and you raised your pierced eyebrow again. "...whatever." You gestured towards the indoor jungle gym, finding her quickly. She was wearing her adorable yellow overalls. "She's in there, playing. Make sure she's being safe." He didn't respond, instead focusing on your daughter while you wrote.

You felt the crackle of magic in the air once again, causing you to look up in time to see Sans disappear. You blinked, then immediately turned to the jungle gym. He reappeared (it looked like he stepped out of nothing) underneath Gloria, who had tumbled off of the side of the play area. She landed in his arms while you just stared. When you saw the tears on her face, you jumped and went to grab her.

She had her arms wrapped around Sans' neck, but grabbed for you when she saw you approach her. "Mama!" she cried. You looked at her, then back to the skeleton.

"kid tried to push her off." He shrugged and walked back to the booth. You looked at the children that huddled in the back of the enclosed play pen. You felt the stares on your back as you turned to look at the mothers sitting at the nearby tables. No doubt they were glaring at you for your skeleton friend.

"She's a weirdo!" one of the kids screamed out. "No one has birthmarks that are green!"

"I'm not weird!" she screamed back, turning to glare at the children. "And even if I was, why do you get to push me!?"

"Monster-lovers should just die!" another one cried. "That's what my mommy says!"

You let your face go blank, hugging Gloria to your chest as you went to your table. You gathered up her paperwork and handed it to Sans. There were eyes on you three. He looked up at you, his eye lights (seemingly) fading into the blackness of his eye sockets. There was a question in the air.

"My best friend is a monster," you said simply, shrugging your shoulders with forced indifference. You were going to explode if you didn't keep yourself under control. "And this skeleton is my friend, too. Monsters are kinder than nearly all the humans I have encountered. He just saved my daughter from falling off the side of the jungle gym." You cleaned up your table with one hand, grabbing your bag and walking towards the doors. Sans looked between you and the parents before following after you. You stopped and nodded your head at the quiet staff behind the counter. "Thank you for our dinner. Night."

"...so, you're chill?" he asked as you walked to your car.

"No," you answered shortly, unlocking the car so you could buckle Gloria into her car seat. She rubbed her eyes. You held her cheek in your hand, smiling softly. "I'm not mad at you, Gloria. Those kids were mean."

"B-but! They-!"

"They said something about Sans, didn't they?" you asked, knowing that she had probably reacted to something mean about him.

"They said their parents say monsters are gross and should die." She started crying again, turning to look at Sans. "But I said that they're not, I promise! Aunt Toriel is nice, and you're nice too!" Her nose dripped snot as she cried, "You guys are nice to my Mama and I!"

You kissed her head, "It's alright, Gloria, it's alright. No more crying, we want to send Sans off with a smile, right?" She looked back to you, nodding and rubbing her face raw. You looked to Sans and nodded. He needed to know that you two weren't going to deal with assholish bigotry towards your new family. "Everything's filled out in there. If something's not right, let me know, 'kay? Otherwise…" You walked towards him, looking at him evenly. "Thank you. I know you can't do a whole hell of a lot when it comes to human assholes, but I won't let them be assholes _to_ you. Or Toriel. Or any of my _new family._ "

He nodded, "...thanks." He walked towards Gloria, patting her on the head. "you were real brave in there, kid, a real _jungle gem_ in the rough." You sighed under your breath. She laughed. "i'll tell frisk you said hi, alright?"

"Yep! Goodbye, Sans!"

He looked to you as he stepped back. "Goodnight, Sans. Thank you."

"yeah. night."

You watched as he, once again, disappeared.

That's the 'popping' he was talking about, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [mama g and gloria concepts](http://radikewwll.deviantart.com/art/Mama-G-and-Gloria-Character-Concepts-616463802)   
>  [soul seer doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ryi2sGFbp6deel9-WuE8M4LxXezuK6g2wcmhkfAocPw/edit?usp=sharing)


	7. BBQ

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have a moment with Gloria. Then you go to Toriel's barbecue.

The evening after 'the incident' at McDonald's, Gloria knocked on your door hesitantly. You looked over to her, asking softly, "What's up, Glor?" Her hair was a mess, no longer trapped in the neat ponytail you had put it in earlier. She kept pulling at it as she walked towards you. She climbed into your lap and rested her head against your chest. You put your pen down (working on some private Seer research) and pushed some of her messy locks away from her eyes.

Your daughter closed her eyes, breathing in and out to collect her thoughts. Finally, her bright eyes stared up at you. Her eyebrows furrowed while she spoke. "Mama, Aunt Toriel and Sans are monsters, right?" You looked at her curiously, nodding to answer her question. "But, they're not _monster_ monsters, yeah? They're… they're just different from us, right?"

"They just look different, Gloria. The aren't evil creatures that hide under your bed or peek out from your closet." You rubbed her back and watched as she thought. She would open her mouth every couple of seconds before shutting it to think of her words properly.

"Aunt Toriel has been nicer to you and me than any human ever has. She's a good mommy to Frisk and she's helped us out a lot… I think if everyone met her, they'd see that monsters are good. They're people too." She looked to her hands and gazed at her twiddling fingers. "If anything, the people being mean to her and the other monsters are the monsters. They're mean. I mean, I was pushed because I love my family! I don't care if they're monsters or anything. They're my family 'cause they love you and me."

Gloria glanced up at you, waiting for your reaction. You ruffled her hair, "Well, you're right. The people we call 'monsters' aren't really monsters at all. They've been nice to us throughout it all." She nodded. "And even though we know it, not everybody else knows it. We're very lucky to have them as part of our family, but we can't just be happy with being nice to them. We have to stand up for them when people are being mean to them." Again, she nodded.

"...so if someone were mean to Frisk, Aunt Toriel, or Sans… I should tell them to stop?"

"Yes." You looked at her, giving her a motherly frown. "And if anyone _ever_ tries to hurt you for what you believe - if anyone puts their hands on you for loving someone different from you--"

"I smack 'em?" She had a determined look in her eyes, a stern face she rarely used expressing how she was willing to protect the people she loved.

You nodded, " _But_ only if they try to hurt you, got it?" She gave you a firm 'got it' and looked back to her hands.

"See, when the other kids pushed me off yesterday, I was really scared. I don't like getting hurt. But when Sans caught me, I felt alright. My heart… my _soul_ felt warm. I know he used his magic to save me, but instead of feeling scared, I felt safe. His magic was warm, Mama. It was like when Aunt Toriel healed my hands, or how I feel when Frisk and I talk, or when you hold me like this, Mama. I felt warm and happy and safe." Gloria pressed her right hand to her birthmark. "I like that feeling. I love our bigger family." She smiled up at you, "I love that everything is changing."

You kissed her forehead, feeling the warmth of being proud bubble up in your chest. Your daughter truly did have a Kind soul. "I love that everything is changing, too, baby. I'm almost done with this, and then we can run your bath for the night. Cool?"

Gloria's smile could be a medication with how good it made you feel. "Cool."

~~~~~

The weekend before the new school year was supposed to start, Toriel invited you to her home for an 'end of summer' barbeque/cook out. Gloria had been excited to go since you mentioned it to her, and she spent the Saturday of picking out the finest outfit she could. (It was a green sundress with yellow sunflowers on it.) You dressed up just a bit, changing out your older piercings for some newer ones and wearing a flowy blouse rather than a tank top.

It would be the first time either of you met anyone other than Toriel, Sans, or Frisk. You both wanted to make some kind of an effort.

When you arrived at Toriel's house, you were greeted by a giant goat. No, not your dear friend. He was _much_ bigger than her, with blond hair that came to his shoulders and a thick blond beard. You blinked up at him, having to physically tilt your head back to see him properly. Gloria had to do the same, taking him in before stretching her hands out. "It's Uncle Asgore!" she said simply. "This is Frisky's Daddy!"

This was Toriel's husband? Good Lord he was bigger than you had anticipated. But, from the look of complete adoration he had on his face, you assumed Gloria had something right. He lifted his hands slightly, as if to pick her up, before turning to you. "Mama G and Gloria, right?" You gave him a grin and a nod. He smiled, "May I?"

"Sure, if you want to. I trust you." You did trust him. He radiated a very fatherly attitude, something that felt safe and warm.

Asgore scooped Gloria up, dwarfing the already tiny child even more. She snuggled into him, laughing happily. "Nice to meet you, Uncle Asgore!" she said, bouncing in his arms. You watched and chuckled at her enthusiastic attitude.

"Nice to meet you, too, Gloria. Frisk has been waiting for you. They're in the backyard right now." She smiled up at him after he sat her down, turning to you and waiting.

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead and find them. They're probably just as excited as you are." She jumped and ran off, waving to you two. Once she was safely in the house (and on her way to the backyard), you turned to Asgore and extended your hand. "Mama G. Your wife is my best friend."

His hand (paw??? You still had no idea…) engulfed yours. "Toriel thinks the same of you. I'm Asgore, as you're aware." His smile was warm. You offered him your own. It was very easy to feel relaxed around him. But that seemed to be the case with most monsters. (Save for Sans… Two for three ain't bad, right?) When he released your hand, he set his on your shoulder and led you towards the house. "I hope she did tell you how many people were coming… We have a large, _ahem_ , extended family."

"I'm prepared for two hundred people. After that, I might have to take a break. I get nervous around large crowds." Asgore nodded in understanding as he opened up the front door. Toriel was in the foyer, putting something away. She looked up when the door opened, smiling and pulling you into a tight, warm hug.

"Ah, you're here! I thought I saw little Gloria running through here. I'm happy you made it! Did Asgore greet you well? I know his size can be a bit intimidating, but he's very kind." She spoke at a thousand miles per second. You set your hands on her shoulders, causing her to go quiet and look at you.

"He was wonderful, Tori. The perfect husband." She let out a soft, relieved sigh. "Your home is beautiful, by the way. Thanks for inviting us over." You rubbed your arm awkwardly, "I'm gonna be honest, I never thought I'd live part of a PTA mom's life; visiting other friends' homes and having quote-unquote playdates between our kids. This is… nice. It's nice."

Toriel offered you a sweet smile. "I'm glad you feel that way. Frisk couldn't stop talking about how excited they were for you and Gloria to come over. Said they had everything planned out. I have no idea what they mean…" Somewhere (probably the kitchen) a smoke alarm went off. She jumped and looked at you. "I'm _so, so_ sorry, G. I'll be back in a moment or two. Make yourself comfortable, we can talk more later!" Your friend took off, scurrying down the foyer before ducking under an archway on her left.

You sighed. Immediately, there were three new faces. Alright, one hundred ninety seven people left…

"Is she the squirt's friend's mom!?"

"Ohhh! This one's feisty - she doesn't look like any other human mother _I've_ seen! Those are some _killer_ attachments, honey."

"THIS IS THE MOTHER OF THE NEW TINY HUMAN THAT JUST RAN THROUGH?"

You turned to look at the owner of the first voice, seeing a fish woman inspecting you. Her one visible eye was squinted as she looked over you. When she noticed you giving her a once over, she blinked (winked?) and smiled awkwardly. You gave her your own knowing smile. Time to knock their socks off. If you had to take a guess as to who this was, you'd have to say…

"Undyne the Undying, right? Frisk mentioned a red-headed fish warrior. You're way bigger than what I was expecting, though. _Significantly_ taller." You weren't lying. She was _maybe_ seven inches shorter than Asgore, definitely pushing past six foot four.

Your Sight faded the world slightly, and you took in her soul. She had a _very_ balanced yellow soul - Justice. No cracks or fissures, no markings of any kind. Her soul was whole and powerful.

"I didn't think the kid talked about me that often," she responded, a bit bashful. She bounced back, leaning towards you. You kept your chin up and shoulders straight. "You're that Seer, right? Auntie… J? G? Frisk talks about you and your kid a lot."

You nodded, "Auntie G or Mama G, or just G. Anything works with me." You caught sight of two other souls, one a darker orange and the other a pastel blue. The darker orange soul - a Brave soul that leaned towards pride - belonged to a… robot man…? "I've seen you on TV before," you said, looking him over. He was certainly the _shape_ of a human, but he shined like metal and smelled like a gas station. "Something something… M-T-V?? M-R-E?"

He scoffed and flipped some hair out of his face. "MTT. Mettaton." You tilted your head, waiting for it to click. It never did.

"I'll be sure to be on the lookout for your show, then. If you like these old things," you gestured to your piercings (what you think he called 'attachments' earlier), "then you have to have some sense of style." Mettaton regarded you coolly before shrugging his shoulders. You were putting his proud soul to the test.

"I suppose they're… nice. If you want to see something with style, my fashion show is on--" You tuned him out, nodding when you were supposed to. He seemed pleased, patting your shoulder before walking away. Undyne and pastel blue still stood by you, Asgore having walked away when you first walked in.

You turned to the final soul, seeing another skeleton. Where Sans was short and stocky, he was tall and thin. He was maybe an inch taller than Undyne. He didn't have eye lights like Sans and Gaster did, but you could tell he was looking at you intently, waiting for you to acknowledge him. You knew this one.

"Papyrus." He squealed when you said his name. Physically _squealed._ And he jumped. How did a skeleton squeal and then not fall apart when he jumped?

….something something magic, you assumed.

"AHH! THE MAMA HUMAN KNOWS OF ME!" He seemed to only just hear his words, because he immediately shot out, "BUT OF COURSE SHE WOULD! FRISK WOULD NO DOUBT TELL EVERYONE OF _ME_ , THE GREAT AND POWERFUL PAPYRUS." He was just as full of himself as Frisk had told you, but whereas Mettaton's narcissism was overbearing, his seemed… happy. It was a confident and genuine kind of full-of-yourself.

It reminded you of Gloria on her good days, where she genuinely believed the world was her oyster and that she could do anything.

You decided to play along with him, nodding and glancing at Undyne. She seemed happy when you smiled softly. "Of course I'd know of you. Frisk loves to talk about their hero; they love to tell Gloria and I about your adventures together." You couldn't believe it, but he blushed. His _skeletal cheek bones_ flushed with orange magic.

"O-OH! OF COURSE THEY WOULD TELL YOU ALL ABOUT ME, THEIR HERO!" You smiled, listening to the two of them talk and answering questions as needed. At one point, you three moved out of the foyer and into the living room, where a few other monsters sat. They looked up when they saw you, but shrugged and went back to their own stuff. Seemed like this was the quiet area of the party.

You were attacked by three children. One was your own, the other was Frisk, and the third was a monster child with no arms. You blinked from your spot on the ground, seeing Undyne and Papyrus staring down at you in amused surprise.

"Mama! Mama!"

" _Auntie G! Auntie G! Auntie G!_ "

The human children turned to look at you surprised face before introducing simultaneously, "Meet _our_ friend _Monster_ Kid!" The yellow colored monster child grinned at you, a wide smile that made you smile.

Undyne hoisted you up as you greeted the trio. "Alright, alright, no need to knock me down, you two." You turned to the lizard-esque child. "Nice to meet you, Monster Kid. I'm G, Gloria's mom."

"That's awesome, yo! Frisky told me that Mornin' Glory over there's comin' to the new school this year?"

"Yep! I'm gonna go to Aunt Toriel's school, MK. I'll be in the first grade!" The kids giggled to themselves before turning to you. Gloria stared up at Undyne and Papyrus, eyes wide and practically sparkling. "Frisk…" She grabbed their sweater. "...You didn't say Undyne and Papyrus were gonna be here…"

" _Mom said that she was inviting almost everyone, Gloria. I thought you knew._ " Frisk offered up a small smirk, causing Gloria to flush. " _Undyne and Papyrus are apart of 'almost everyone.'_ "

Monster Kid (MK?) nodded, "Yeah, Mornin' Glory! I thought you knew!"

She shook her head before extending her hand nervously. Undyne and Papyrus looked at it, then at her, before smiling widely. "I'm Gloria… I hope we can be friends, too!"

Papyrus picked her up, then blinked (HIS FACE WAS A SKULL HOW!?) and examined her. "YOU WEIGH VERY LITTLE, HUMAN! IF I DID NOT KNOW ANY BETTER, BUT I DO, I WOULD SAY THAT YOU ARE JUST SKIN AND… _BONES!_ " He and the others laughed at his joke while you just stared at them. Yes, Frisk wasn't lying when they said that the skeletons were related.

Speaking of related skeletons…

Where was Sans?

As if hearing your thoughts, you felt the crackle of magic in the air. You turned to where it felt like the magic was coming from, seeing Sans step out of (what looked like) a closet door. He blinked (again with the skull) and gave you a smile. "nice to see you again, g."

You bowed your head forward, "You as well, Sans." He greeted the others, giving you a small opening to slip away for a breather. You didn't get very far before he caught your wrist, stopping you and causing you to look at him. You quirked an eyebrow up in curiosity. "...can I help you?"

"we need to talk."

You tilted your head as a silent hint to continue.

"what do you know about gaster?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you didn't think he forgot about gloria's slip up during the phone call, did you!?


	8. the chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sans talks to g about gaster. he inadvertently learns more about her and gloria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written from sans' perspective, holy fUCK. i was like "oh let's write in all lower case because that's clearly how sans should be written." i type in all lower case when i'm chatting online with friends normally, but when i'm actually WRITING it's really hard not to type using 'proper writing etiquette'.
> 
> anyways. this was actually really nice to write, too. it was just hard figuring out how i wanted it to progress, and when i did figure it out it ended quite naturally, so sorry for the shorter chapter and the delay!

"Oh, the creep."

sans hadn't been expecting that response. the magic that had been crackling in his skull subsided immediately; he had been expecting her to attempt to brush him off or deny knowing. but she just stared at him blankly.

he watched as g lifted her free hand to where he held her wrist, her fingers prying his off. he got the message and shoved his hands back into his pockets, "sorry." she shrugged it off, tilting her head in the direction of the front door. then she started walking. he merely followed. was there something sensitive she didn't want anyone else to hear?

once they stood outside, she sat on the porch's steps. "It's a bit quieter out here. Let's me keep my thoughts together… So. You wanna know what _I_ know about Gaster, huh? It's not a whole lot, mind you. He's…" sans sat beside her. their shoulders brushed slightly. "Well, I can only see him when I'm using my Sight." she gestured to her eyes, and he noticed how her irises pulsed with magic. he assumed that _that_ was her activating her Sight.

most monsters could detect when magic was in use, but he was especially good at picking up every magical cue around. the birthmark on her neck crackled with blue magic - faint, but powerful. as the Judge, he could choose to look at her soul whenever he wanted. as a Seer, she could choose to look at his soul whenever she wanted. but she looked away, giving his cracked soul some privacy.

hadn't she said that she knew souls were intimate for monsters?

when the blue crackling had stopped, she looked back. her eyes were normal again. "I only saw him because of my Sight. I went to check on Frisk and Gloria… The night before I met, you actually." well, that was coincidental. "His body is mostly this… black goop? And his face is a skull, but with two cracks, one going up and the other going down. He has a purple soul - Perseverance." then it was definitely gaster she had seen. his purple magic had been more powerful than anything else. muffet's purple magic couldn't even compare. "Though it has these… things, I guess, overtop of it. _Around_ him. Black boxes that jump around. They remind me of a computer glitch. He says he thinks it part of the Void."

his gaze shot back to her (he hadn't realized he had been playing with his hands) at 'Void.' her hand was pressed against her chest, above her heart. she looked serene. "he mention anything else about the void?" he asked, watching as her knuckles went white from her gripping her shirt. he couldn't tell if it was a touchy subject or if she hadn't been expecting him to speak.

"Says that not every Seer can see him. He said… well, he has two theories. One," she wasn't looking at him, but she held one finger up, "is that only Seers that are important to the… the timeline? Yeah, the timeline. Only Seers that are important to the timeline can see him. He said he doesn't really have the ability to compare who or what important Seers are, though. Said he's been 'locked into' this one. Whatever that means."

"gaster said he was locked in?" he had a feeling that his father had been able to jump between timelines, since (at one point) timelines were various and never ending, much like the Void he had entered. but if he had been locked in… what could that mean?

"Yes. I just said that. There's another theory he has, too." g was looking at him, her hand on her chest once again. "About the piece of my soul that's missing. About the Void within myself." sans blinked at her. "That piece of me that's missing gives me access to the Void. The cracks on Frisk's soul gives them access. And the fact the Gloria's soul has already had one foot in there gives her access. Gaster thinks that those of us - us being Seers - that have deep enough cracks or missing pieces can see him."

"so he thinks seers with the void in their soul can see him…" he'd have to pocket that information for later. it could prove to be useful. g looked out at the road, her head in her hand. sans glanced at her from the corner of his eye sockets. the silence that fell wasn't comfortable or uncomfortable - it was just there. his mind raced for something to talk about. souls were probably a good place to start. "did it hurt to give up part of your soul?"

she looked at him again, face blank. then, she smiled softly and shook her head. "It didn't hurt nearly as much as worrying over Gloria did. She was two at the time of the accident and she was hit in such a way that she had less and less of a chance of waking up the more time went on. So I looked into it. I had heard rumors but had never _seen_ a soul like mine or her, but I figured it couldn't hurt. The day the doctors on hand asked if I wanted to pull the plug on her, I begged to be let in her room before I decided. And then I went about my business."

he watched as her eyes glazed over with the memory.

"I held her close and brought her soul out for me to See. It had lost nearly all of its color - no longer the green I had grown to love, but shock white. There was a large crack going through her soul. So I did what the books had told me to, and I shoved my soul towards hers. A piece of my soul was grafted to hers." g smiled again and sans watched as a couple tears slid down her face. "I didn't think it would work, but the doctors rushed in when she opened her eyes. Her chubby little fingers grabbed my face and she called for me. She used her Sight for the first time that day." she really did love her kid.

"your husband died in that accident?" he asked softly. she looked at him, not bothering to wipe the tear tracks off her face.

"Darren and I weren't married. We weren't even lovers. We were best friends. Just two dudes having a kid together." she leaned against the railing on her side of the stairs and smirked at his surprised expression. "It's not something that's common up here, and I'm betting it's not common among monsters either, huh?"

he shook his head. "both souls have to love each other deeply in order to conceive a kid. that kind of love can only be achieved in a _romantic_ relationship." he looked at her, raising his brow bone curiously. she matched his curious expression. "you had a kid with your best friend. how did that… even work?"

she shrugged. "He asked, I said yes. Had sex, conceived child. Bought house… We did everything a 'romantic' couple would do, but as friends. I dunno. We weren't interested in the whole romantic side of relationships, but we both wanted kids. It was easier to have a child together than to force ourselves to find someone to love."

she explained it like it was the easiest thing in the world. and, from her casual tone, it was just that easy for her. it confused sans to no end but that was fine. she and her kid were apart of frisk and toriel's (and by extension, _his_ ) family now, and they both seemed determined to stay. he didn't have to understand the reasoning behind why she had gloria, he just had to accept that that reasoning brought them to the monsters.

g dug around in her pockets before producing her cell phone. she looked at him firmly, "You have a cell, right?" he nodded. she unlocked hers, tapping on the screen and pulling up a 'new contact' page. "If you're alright with it, can you put your number in here? It's nice to have another person to talk to about souls and stuff. Tori knows quite a bit, and it seems that you can fill in what she doesn't know." she pushed some of her hair behind her ear, wincing when it got caught on her eyebrow piercing. she fumbled with the hair while she spoke, "It'll be nice to get more information. It'll definitely help out with my research." the hair wasn't coming undone.

sans leaned towards her, lifting his hands up. "need some help, buddy?" she nodded, closing her eyes and lowering her head slightly. he pulled at the hair, watching her face closely to make sure he wasn't hurting her. she looked completely content as he got the strands out. once the hair was out of the eyebrow ring, he pushed it behind her ear. "got it."

"Thanks." she smiled and leaned back against the railing. he reached for her phone, picking it up and inputting all his contact information. when he hit 'done,' the contact list popped up. there weren't many people in there. that'd probably change by the end of the evening - she and gloria were going to attract a lot of attention, and their 'new family' was going to blow up her phone book.

"give me an ear _ring_ whenever you need some help, sweetheart," he said as he handed her the phone. she frowned at that and shook her head, pushing herself up. so she wasn't a fan of puns, huh? interesting. "you heading back inside?"

"Yeah. Tori probably needs some help and there's still a lot of people I need to introduce myself to. I'm hoping to get acquainted with everyone…" she walked towards the door, but glanced back at him. "Papyrus is your brother, right?"

he blinked at that before smiling widely, "yeah, he's the coolest, right?"

she nodded, "Yeah, he seems wonderful… You've taken good care of him. He's happy." her smile was soft as they looked at each other. he felt the magic swell in his cheeks from her gentle, almost _sweet_ tone. she walked back inside.

sans could hear the others instantly swarm her.

his face went completely blue and he buried his skull in his hands. he had called her _sweetheart_ and _pushed her hair behind her ear._ mind you, he hadn't been thinking about what he was doing, but she hadn't reacted to either of the actions! he had probably just embarrassed the hell out of himself. she probably thought he was flirting with her. shit. shit.

he lowered his hands when someone stuck their head in the space between his head and his legs, bouncing back slightly when two big, green eyes looked up at him. "stars, gloria!" he shrieked. (yes, _shrieked._ ) he hadn't felt her come near him at all. once he had his magic back under his control, he looked at her. she sat where g had been, legs drawn up to her chest. he smiled lazily, hoping he hadn't freaked her out. "there something you need?"

"Well, Aunt Tori sent Frisk, MK, and I out to get everyone together. She wants us to tell everybody that dinner is ready." she reached towards sans. "But you looked upset, out here all by yourself. So I thought I'd sit out here with you until you're better." her tiny hand grabbed his. he could feel magic pulse in her fingers. she scooted so she sat beside him, resting her cheek on his arm. the motion was something frisk would do, and he had no doubts that she had picked it up from them. he was at ease almost instantly. green magic had that effect on people.

maybe these two Seers were more powerful than he thought.


	9. Gloria's First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Gloria's first day of school.
> 
> ...so why are you the anxious one?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! you! yeah you! i made a tumblr just to talk to you! come hit me up if you wanna talk, ask questions, all that jazz. if you're lucky (and by you i mean everyone, lol) i'll post sneak peeks, polls, art work, and other stuff. and if you wanna send me (and, in essence, everyone else) fanart, there's a submit button too. no pressure, no pressure!  
> [this is the link to my tumblr!!!](https://acoolegg.tumblr.com/)

You woke up when your alarm went off. And _that_ wasn't right.

You shot out of bed as soon as the first chirp went off, covers kicked off and senses in overdrive. Gloria hadn't gotten you up. _Something was wrong because Gloria hadn't gotten you up._ The world dulled into grays as you searched for your daughter's soul.

Gaster tried to stop you as you ran down the hallway, but you raised your hand in the universal gesture of 'not now.' He blinked twice before dripping into the floorboards. Good. He could stay out of your way for a few moments.

You shoved open Gloria's bedroom door, nearly hyperventilating when you didn't see her or her soul laying on her bed. "Gloria?" you asked loudly, hoping she was around. Where was your baby? _Why hadn't she gotten you up!?_ "Glor!? Gloria! Where are you? You're scaring--"

"Mama, I was in the bathroom." You turned to the side, seeing your daughter's curious gaze. Her green soul pulsed with anticipation. Your soul reached for her and you pulled her close. You had been waking up with her for six years and to suddenly be woken up by your alarm? It had frightened you, more than you'd like to admit.

You ran your fingers through her hair, feeling the worry melt into fierce protectiveness. Your Sight faded away and color seeped back in. "Don't you scare your mama like that again, Gloria. I thought someone swooped in in the middle of the night and took you."

"I thought I was being nice, not wakin' you up… I was getting ready, all by myself. Like a big kid! Like Frisk!" You tore yourself away from her to look over her. She wore the uniform of the school, dressed in rich purples, lavenders, creams, and black. Her hair was brushed away from her face and pinned back by a four-pointed star pin Frisk had given her.

Her words sank in, and you smiled softly at her. You tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Thank you for thinking of me, sweetheart, but I wanted to be up with you. This is your first day of school, _ever_. I wanted to help you." You rested your palm against her cheek. She looked like she was about to cry, hearing that you wanted to help. "But you did really well. You got everything on all by yourself - it looks like Frisk really is rubbing off on you in a good way!"

Gloria nodded happily, her wild hair already shaking out of her carefully brushed look. "Yeah, Frisky's really helpful. They taught me how to do my hair like this and even how to get the skirt to button right! I'm sad they're in third grade and we won't be together all the time, but I'm happy we'll be together at recess and stuff!" She was bouncing on her heels. "I still have time before I gotta be at school, right?"

You nodded and walked her towards the kitchen, making a pit stop by your room to grab your phone. It read '8:07 A.M' across the screen proudly. Gloria didn't have to be at school until nine, and you didn't have to leave the house until 8:45. "We have time to get some breakfast together, how does that sound?"

"Yeah! I want breakfast! Fruity hoops and milk! And orange juice!" She bounced as you two got your breakfasts together. You handed her her cup of milk and she dumped it on her cereal before eating it quickly _but_ carefully.

You noticed. "Wow, Gloria. You're taking a lot of care to make sure your uniform doesn't get dirty, huh?" She nodded, going to wipe her mouth on her sleeve. Then she stopped, looked at her arm, shook her head, and reached for a napkin. You handed her one. "Are you excited?" you asked softly, rubbing her head.

"Very excited. I'm happy I get to go to school and make friends! I'm happy I'm already friends with MK and Frisk! I'm happy we met them because then I wouldn't be there, I'd be here." She looked at her spoon for a moment, contemplating. As you looked over her furrowed brow and unwavering gaze, you realized that she had matured quite a bit in the months of being around Frisk and Toriel.

Not that she had matured in a bad way; you had babied her for her whole life, and it had shown. She didn't act _entitled_ but she had had no idea on how to react to anyone but you. Now she had a best friend and knew (at least a little bit) of how the world worked outside of your little home. She knew that people were going to be mean, and she knew that she had to smile and prove them wrong with the kindness she was so good at. It was refreshing.

Part of you wanted to say that it would've been better for her to stay ignorant to the evilness of the world, but the rest of you realized that she needed experience with the outside to stay strong in the face of adversity. Frisk and Toriel, hell, _your whole new family_ was going to give her that experience, as well as the love and compassion you'd _both_ need.

Once again, her words set in. You feigned hurt, the back of your hand pressed against your forehead as you swooned backwards. "You don't want to be here with your mother anymore, Gloria? I'm hurt!"

She jumped up, standing up in her chair. "What no! No! I love being here with you Mama, I'm just--I'm saying that--" She looked at the empty seat across from her, "Gaster tell her!" Ah, so that was where your house slime went. Once again, your world went gray. You looked to Gaster, who looked like the cat that caught the canary.

He held his chin in his hand, smile reminiscent of a scheming Grinch before Christmas. " **What should I tell Mama, dear Gloria?** " 

She was getting adorably flustered. "You--you know! You know the thing!" She looked at you for help, "The thing!"

You decided to play along, "What thing, honey?" She shoved her hands into her hair, succeeding in finally messing it up. You laughed and walked the short distance to hug her. "I know what you're trying to say, Glor. Gaster and I were just teasing." You looked to your resident Voidman. "Right?"

" **Yes.** " Gloria glared at him, not believing him. " **My apologies, Gloria. I didn't mean to make you upset.** " She nodded and gave him a smile. You watched as he smiled back, standing up (as best he could) and dripping his way over to you two. He kept his distance, though he leaned a bit to look at her on her level. " **I truly am sorry. If it helps, you're quite cute when you're flustered.** "

She went completely red in the face, burying her head in your chest. You grinned and held her closer. "I don't think that helped, Gaster. Nice try, though."

" **Oh, I knew it wouldn't help. I would do the same thing to Papyrus when he was her age.** " Oh he was opening up. Oh this might be good. " **He'd get just as flustered, but he'd fall down and thrash about on a pillow.** " You glanced at him from over your shoulder, seeing a parental, loving look on his face. Fond memories. He caught himself, 'coughing' to clear his throat and standing up straight. " **Well, enough of that. Gloria needs to finish eating and then go brush her teeth.** "

You looked at her, "You didn't brush your teeth?"

She shook her head, "Orange juice tastes yucky with the mint, Mama! Of course I didn't!" You grinned and rubbed her head. "And I'll eat fast so I can fix my hair. I gotta make it look nice, like how Frisk taught me!"

~~~~~

You walked Gloria into her classroom. You couldn't tell whose hand was sweatier, yours or hers. Nerves? Yes. The fact that there was a tiny child made of flame? Maybe also that. As soon as she saw the purple flame child, she let go of your hand and made her way over to them. Was that a friend of hers? Had she met them at Toriel's?

"Mama, this is Balle. She's gonna be my friend." Oh apparently not. Gloria turned back to the purple flame child (Balle), who seemed to be slightly more pink in the cheek area. You couldn't hear the girl speak over the sound of other children, but your daughter looked back to you. "She says that I can sit next to her!" You smiled before looking over the other children in the classroom.

It was (roughly) a three to four mix. For every three human children, four monster children matched them. The class wasn't very big to begin with, maybe twenty kids at the most, so it was nice to see a nice mix. Toriel had worked really hard to get children of _every_ kind to enroll in the school, and it showed.

You crouched down at the desk Gloria had claimed, feeling the prickles of anxiety climbing up your arms. Your baby, on the other hand, didn't look fazed at all. Were you really going to leave her here for seven hours? All by herself?

Yes, you reasoned, you were. She was in a school _owned and operated by your best friend_ , there was no reason to be worried. Her teachers were trained in everything they needed to be. She'd be fine.

"You'll be fine?"

Couldn't hurt to ask.

Gloria smiled and nodded. "Of course I'll be alright, Mama. I'm not scared of people anymore--you taught me to be strong! Besides, I'm gonna be friends with Balle." She looked to the other girl. "I'll be good! I'll be fine!" You nodded, though you didn't feel much better. Your baby was going to school. "Oh! Frisky! Sans!"

You looked to the door of the classroom, where an excited Frisk (and not so excited Sans) stood. When Gloria called their name, all of the monster children perked up and looked as well. The child ran into the classroom, signing to those that called their name. They immediately started chatting it up with Gloria, who already had her Sight on.

You brushed off your hands as you stood up, walking over to Sans and nodding. "Wasn't expecting to see you in today," you said, smiling amiably. Since your little kumbaya together on Toriel's porch, you had found some kind of friendship in him. Mind you, it had only been three days (the party was Saturday, and the first day was on a Tuesday), but it said something.

The skeleton rubbed the back of his head (skull?) and shrugged. "tori was busy, what with opening the school up. i got roped into bringing them in." Despite that, he watched Frisk interact with the younger kids fondly. "paps wanted to come, too, but he had work."

You were surprised to hear that. "Oh? Where's he working?"

"the monster embassy. security." You vaguely remember Frisk mentioning that in passing. You filed it away in your brain. "your _morning glory_ seems to be in full bloom today." He tilted his head in Gloria's direction. She and Frisk were talking cheerfully to all of the students, holding hands happily.

"I'm surprised, honestly. She used to be so, _so_ shy. Meeting Frisk and Toriel… _everyone_... has certainly changed that." Your full smile morphed into a soft, gentle one. "I realized that this morning, actually. You guys have _definitely_ been a positive change in our lives. Glor has never been more kind, more _open._ "

"yeah. she sure is something." Was that… fondness in his voice? Had your daughter finally caught Sans' soul as well? You looked at him. He was watching her with a similar look he watched Frisk with. He felt you looking. "...something interesting?"

"You," you answered simply. Sans opened his mouth to respond, but there was a tap against your shoulder. You looked. "Toriel!"

Your closest friend stood in a lavender skirt suit, glasses perched on her snout. Her fur was fluffed perfectly, giving her an even more intense air of regality and elegance. Her amethyst eyes sparkled with happiness.

She smiled, "Good morning, Mama G. Good morning to you as well, Sans. Thank you for bringing Frisk in… Are they still in there?" The skeleton man nodded. Tori sighed and motioned that she needed past. You two parted. "Frisk, my child, it's time for classes to start. You must go to the third grade wing."

The child ambassador nodded, giving their mother a quick hug before walking over to you and Sans. They signed something to him, then turned to you and slowly signed, " _Goodbye, Auntie G. Have a nice day._ " (You and Gloria had requested to be taught. They gladly obliged.)

You tried to sign back, but gave up and gave them a hug. "Have a nice day, too, Frisky." They squeezed you before running off down the hallway. Sans followed them at a leisurely pace. "Bye, Sans," you called with a wave. He gave you a lazy smile and waved back. You finally turned to Gloria and Toriel. You mouthed 'goodbye! Love you!' to your daughter and 'good luck!' to your dear friend. Both smiled appreciatively.

You collected yourself as you walked away, feeling some kind of emotion build up within you. It was making your eyes wet. Was this… Pride? Or loneliness? Or some kind of mixture of both? You pushed open the door to the school, keeping the emotion at bay with will alone. You couldn't let anyone see you cry right now.

So you climbed into your car and started it up. You threw your bag into the passenger seat and happened to glance into the back to see Gloria's car seat. You cried just a bit then.

Fortunately, it was just a few tears. Nothing that turned your face red. Which was nice, because there was suddenly a skeleton in your passenger seat, sitting on your bag. Sans struggled to get it out from under him while he looked at you. Once it was out from beneath him, he handed it to you while asking, "so, i meant to ask, you wanna get some coffee after this?"

You threw your bag at him. "DO NOT JUST APPEAR IN MY CAR."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [tumblr](https://acoolegg.tumblr.com/)   
>  [soul seer doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ryi2sGFbp6deel9-WuE8M4LxXezuK6g2wcmhkfAocPw/edit)   
>  [mama g and gloria concepts](http://acoolegg.deviantart.com/art/Mama-G-and-Gloria-Character-Concepts-616463802)


	10. Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go out for coffee with Sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how to tell i'll be updating soon:  
> did i respond to your comments recently?  
> did i edit the tags?
> 
> if yes to either of those, then i'm updating soon. LOL

You weren't generally a fan of Starbucks, but it was the closest coffeeshop to the Dreemurr School of Interspecies Education (DSIE for short). Sans seemed to relax as you drove to the place, going so far as to lean his seat back and kick his feet up on your dashboard. You think he fell asleep at one point.

When you two were finally parked, you tapped his arm until his eyes opened up. "we there already?" he asked, yawning. "thought for sure it'd be another few minutes." Did he have yawn-tears gathering at the bottom of his eye sockets? Skeletons could apparently cry. Huh.

You offered him a scowl. "This was the closest coffee place. If you're that tired, though, you could always go home to sleep?" You wanted to go home and pass back out in your bed. Your sleep schedule was already messed up to begin with, and the minor heart attack you had that morning had sapped all your energy away. You were tired.

"nah. i'll just take a nap later." You went slack in the face. His grin took on a particularly shit-eating look. You wanted to wipe it off his face. "...so we gonna go in or…?" That got you to move. You opened up your door suddenly, stepping out and collecting your bag.

You could feel his eyes on you as you shut your door, circled around to his side. "Out," you said sharply, slamming open his door.

Sans had been leaning against it. He tumbled out, landing in a pile at your feet. You both stared at each other, eyes wide as you took in what had just happened. You started to laugh at how stupid the situation was. Your friend, _a magical skeleton that could teleport_ , just tumbled out of your car and onto the ground _at a Starbucks._ His cheekbones went blue from embarrassment as he got up and brushed off his track shorts.

"jeesh, g. could i ask you to be a bit more _car_ -ful around me?" You two stared at each other again, but your brows furrowed and you huffed while walking away. Sans laughed, "what? no appreciation for my puns? i didn't realize i was such a _door_!"

"No, shut up, you're never riding with me ever again." You opened up the door to the shop, already feeling stares on you and your skeleton friend. You shrugged and walked towards the line in front of the counter. Sans shuffled up behind you, pulling his wallet out from his hoodie. You reached for your bag to grab yours.

Once again, his skeletal hand grabbed your wrist. "i got it. i invited you out, remember?" You blinked at him twice before letting go of your bag. If he wanted to buy your boring black coffee, good for him. His grin widened a bit. Was it uncomfortable to always smile?

As the line moved forward, you decided to tease him slightly. "You just showed up in my car, actually. Showed up _then_ invited me out." His cheeks turned blue with magic. That was definitely an embarrassed flush. You didn't think you said anything that would embarrass him? Maybe he didn't take teasing very well...

"you're not gonna let me live down popping into your car, are you?" he asked, side eyeing you. You just shrugged it off and looked over the people in front of you. A young woman in front of you held a little boy on her shoulder, and he looked up at you curiously. You smiled gently and waved at him. He laughed, taking the fist he had been sucking on and waving back at you.

His mother jumped at his sudden laugh, looking at him before turning to look at you. You took in the way she openly looked over you and Sans, preparing yourself for bigotry. Instead, she smiled warmly. Her little boy shifted so he looked back at you two as well, all smiles and laughs. She spoke to him softly, "Are you smiling at the nice lady, Timothy?" He nodded happily as he sucked back on his fingers. She looked back to you, "He's not a very social baby, so to get him to laugh like that is truly a feat."

Your smile only widened, immediately thinking of Gloria. "I have a little girl at home who was the exact same way. I didn't think she'd grow out of it. We met some people and, well, she started school with her new friends today."

The young mother looked at Sans when you said 'people' and smiled back at you. "I'll remember that, then. Timothy gets nervous, but maybe if he meets the right people…" The baby was laughing again, and you looked down to Sans. Your eyes widened when you saw him juggling three bones. The other woman did the same before smiling.

"Next!" the barista called. The woman looked at you once more before ordering her coffee. Her baby kept watching Sans, who kept doing things with the bones. They both smiled widely. After her order was in, she walked away with another wave. Your turn, it seemed.

You watched Sans as you walked towards the counter. Once Timothy was out of sight, the bones he had been juggling disappeared in the air. So they were magic? Good to know. You had been genuinely concerned that he had just ripped some of his own off. You cracked your neck and looked back to the barista, face blanking. "Can I get a tall black coffee?" you asked, not really focusing. Your thoughts strayed to Gloria.

"You want any sweetener with that?" they asked as they typed into the register. You shook your head. Gloria wanted some more Nutella… If you didn't get a new jar of peanut butter, you could swing it. You were chill with Nutella and banana sandwiches, instead of pb & j sandwiches. You just couldn't lay the Nutella on very thick. It was expensive. You'd just have to-- "Ma'am?" You blinked yourself out of your thoughts. "Is the monster with you?"

You looked to Sans, who wasn't looking at you. His brow bones were furrowed. You looked back to the barista. "Yes, he is. He's buying my coffee, actually." Time to attempt to save this situation. "Sans, you should've just shoved me out of the way to order. Sorry, dude."

He looked up at you, his grin stretching awkwardly. "sorry, sorry." You stepped to the side so he could get to the counter. The barista looked nonplussed about the monster in front of them. You rolled your eyes at their half-assed attempt at hiding their distaste. Sans rattled off his order (was that a pun you accidentally made? You hope not), trying not to show how pissed he was getting.

After the third time he had to repeat his order, you stopped him and said, "I'm sorry, but can we have another barista serve us please? His order's not that hard and I really don't appreciate how you're talking to him." The kid behind the counter openly scoffed, throwing their hands in the air and calling for someone else.

A spunky young man walked towards you two, taking in your looks before smiling widely. "Sorry about that, guys. Alex doesn't like anyone. We're trying to fix that but…" He shook his head, causing his bright red hair to flail about. He leaned towards Sans, "Really sorry about it, sir." A heartfelt apology had not been what either of you were expecting, if your faces had anything to say. Red-head smiled again at them, "Alright, once more please!"

"uh, can i get a tall iced cinnamon dolce latte?" The man - his name tag read Joel - in front of you nodded, picking up a cup and scribbling down the order. You knew something was coming when his smile spread even more. "and extra whip cream and cinnamon. like, i'd like a _latte_ of it." You knew it. You hated the fact that you knew it.

Joel laughed loudly, "Yeah, I can do that for you." You bit back a groan and walked towards the end of the counter to wait for your steaming black coffee.

You heard him ask for your names, to which Sans replied, "just write down skeletor and raven." That caught your attention. Raven? When he walked down to you, he caught your look. "what's with that?"

"Raven? From the Teen Titans?" If you remembered correctly, she was the cool one. It's been a few years since you had seen Teen Titans, though. Way before Gloria had been born.

Sans blinked at you before looking away. His cheekbones turned blue again. "i forgot about her. frisk says she's one of the cool ones…" Your coffee was the first one done (plain black hell yeah!) so you picked it up and took a sip. Burning hot, just how you liked it. He caught your questioning look, knowing you wanted to know where he caught the name. "so, there was this show on… ugh, it has a letter that looks like a 'g' but isn't?"

"The Disney channel?" you offered.

He nodded, "yeah! that one. frisk showed this show to me, said it was just weird enough for me to enjoy it, and it was called… 'that's so raven…'" You remembered that show. Darren loved that show.

You deadpanned and said, "I see souls, Sans. I don't see the future."

"but you get the joke i was going for!"

"Unfortunately." His coffee slid towards you, and you grabbed it and handed it to him. It was cold and covered in whip cream. "This looks super sweet," you commented offhandedly.

"i like sweet things," he responded, shrugging his shoulders as he walked away. You followed him over to a table and sat across from him. Once you two were situated, he looked to you. "so, first day of school."

You set your chin in your hand. "I think I'm more anxious about it than she is," you said after a moment. "I had been planning on homeschooling her. Her birthmark garners a lot of attention, and not all of it is good. With mine, I can play it off like it's a tattoo." You tilted your neck to show him yours, and you watched as his eyelights moved down it to the Oroboros on your collarbone, then to the 'Gloria' written on your shoulder in her handwriting. He looked back to your face. "She can't play it off like that. She's _six._ So I worried about bullying and the like. I mean, she used to get it when we went to the park. She _got_ it when we went to McDonald's. But, well… Frisk and Toriel mentioned their school and something about that compelled me to agree."

"she'll be in a safe place," he said, filling in the blanks. You nodded, bringing your cup to your lips and taking a sip. He looked at his straw. "glor's a good kid, surrounded by good people. if that's not enough: she's got strong magic in her, too. she'll be safe."

You nodded in agreement, but then stopped when you processed what he said. "Strong magic?" you asked, hoping for clarification.

Sans glanced up at you, then at your birthmark. You raised a hand to touch it. "strong magic. you've got it, too. green magic, the kind she has the most of, is a protective magic. it's also a healing magic, physically and emotionally. she probably doesn't know she's using it, but when she touches someone, she calms them down." He looked at his right hand, studying it. Then he looked back to you.

You stared at him. "She has… _strong_ magic? That's…" You searched for the right word while you stared at your cup. "That's unbelievable. Soul Seers just have the remnants of magic. _Just enough_ to see souls. We don't have anything _strong._ " You gestured to yourself. "I certainly don't have _strong magic._ "

"i know that seers _have_ the remnants of magic. i've learned that through my own research and my interactions with you, glor, and frisk. but i think that you and gloria have _strong_ remnants." His smile was tight, giving him a serious look. "i think that the remnants of magic in you two has only gotten _stronger_ since you've been around a bunch of monsters."

"Are you saying that you… You and _Toriel_ and _Papyrus_ and… everyone else… have made us more powerful?" You looked at Sans evenly. He nodded. After a moment of contemplating, you asked softly, "Does that make us dangerous?"

His eye lights searched your face. "what?"

You couldn't keep your face straight as you looked at him, a small frown pulling at the corners of your mouth. "Does having powerful magic make us a danger to you? To monsters? ...will it make monsters fear us, to be powerful?"

"are you asking if you're like a mage now?" You nodded and kept your gaze level with his. He shook his head. "no, you're not a mage. if you honed your magic, you might _eventually_ be like one. but even if you were…" His smile relaxed slightly, feeling more genuine. "you and gloria couldn't hurt us if you tried. it's not in your nature."

You smiled back, lowering your gaze to the table and sipping from your coffee. "You guys are our family now. We can't hurt the people we love."

Sans rested his cheek in his palm, that same relaxed smile on his face. "don't worry. i know."


	11. A Threat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You stay for dinner with Toriel and Frisk, but you learn something interesting.
> 
> You ask for Sans' help learning magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *snapping* i dunno why it's so long  
> *clapping* actually i do!  
> *dancing* it's cause i couldn't find a good place  
> *dramatic posing ~~isn't that more dancing~~ * to stop it for you!

School was going well for Gloria, as you had come to begrudgingly expect. She had found her niche in a mixed group of kids, taking up her position as Frisk's best friend and right hand. Every evening, when you'd pick her up at Toriel's after your appointments, she'd have a new story for you about her group's adventure on the playground or about what they did in class. And every evening, you would smile and listen intently, taking in every word she said like it was gospel.

On one of these evenings, Toriel invited you to stay for dinner. "It's just dinner, my dear friend," she reasoned when you opened your mouth. She knew what your reply would be. ' _I couldn't impose on you like that, Tori._ ' So you just smiled and let her lead you into the house. Your daughter and nibling sat at the coffee table in the living room, homework and coloring books scattered across the table. When you walked past, Gloria looked up and saw you. You stopped and looked to Toriel. "I'll just be in the kitchen, my dear. Visit with them for a while, okay?" You nodded and turned back to the kitchen.

"Mama!" she cried happily, standing up suddenly. She stumbled over Frisk's feet but managed to right herself before falling. You opened your arms to catch her when she came in for a hug. "Mama, you would not _believe_ what Frisky did today at recess!"

You smiled and said, "I wouldn't?" Then, you looked to Frisk, who had buried their head in their hands. You saw how red their ears were getting. "Was it something embarrassing, Frisk?" You let your world go gray, bringing Frisk's soul into view. It was thumping quickly.

" _Gloriaaaaa! No, no, don't bring it up!_ " they whined pathetically. " _Auntie G is the last person that needs to know!_ "

Gloria laughed, "But it was so cute Frisk! Cute and funny!" You smiled at her. "Okay, so, at recess one of the baby Moldsmal's wasn't having a good time. So I tried to talk to them, because sometimes if you do that they calm down!" She was bouncing excitedly at this point, looking at Frisk. "But the baby Moldsmal didn't like that, so they pulled my soul out for a confrontation!"

_What._

Your face must've shown exactly what you were feeling because Frisk shot up, shaking their head and waving their arms. " _It didn't get bad! I promise! The Moldsmal was nervous that she was talking to them, and sometimes when they get nervous they call souls out for a confrontation. They didn't mean it! They didn't fight - I managed to get their before they could do anything!_ "

You sighed and said, "Okay… Well, if there was no fight and no one got hurt, I guess it's fine. But what did Frisk do, honey?" Gloria practically had sparkles in her eyes as she pulled away from you. She threw her hands on her hips and started shaking them dramatically.

"This! They got the Moldsmal to calm down by dancing like them! And then MK started doing it, too, and then Balle, and so I did! And the Moldsmal looked so happy afterwards!" Gloria grabbed Frisk's hands, pulling them up with her. "C'mon, do it with me Frisk!" Your nibling blushed and looked away, shaking their head. She looked up at them worriedly when they didn't respond. "Frisk? ...I'm sorry, did I go too far?"

" _No, no._ " You heard their giggles. " _You just looked really cute and funny doing that._ " She laughed and pulled at their hands again. " _Alright, alright. Let's do it again._ " Just as Frisk set their hands on their hips, the front door shot open again. You turned to look, smiling when you saw Asgore duck beneath the doorframe. " _Ah! Dad!_ "

You smiled and watched as Frisk ran to their father, who caught them in a hug. You felt a tug on your soul, and looked to see Gloria. And there it was: her 'I'll try to be happy for you, even if I hate the fact that I'm jealous' face. Her smile was empty and her soul throbbed with mixed emotions. You had (unfortunately) grown use to seeing her soul shudder and throb like that. She wanted a fatherly figure, too.

How would she react to this? You smiled sadly and watched as she looked to the floor and formed fists with her hands before shaking her head and running towards Asgore. "Uncle Azzy!" she cried out happily, launching herself at him. He caught her as well, holding both of the children in his arms.

"Ah, good evening, little Gloria! And to you, too, G." You smiled at him, bowing your head forward in greeting. "So Toriel finally convinced you to stay for dinner?" he asked good naturedly, smiling widely.

"You say that like I'm so hard to convince," you teased as the world's color came back. You looked back to the doorway, seeing Papyrus standing outside of the house. "...Papyrus? Are you going to come inside?" you asked, walking towards the door. He jumped at your voice and turned to look down at you, pointing something at you. In his hands was one of the bones he could summon. You blinked at it, then looked back up to him. "Something the matter?"

"NO! NO, NOTHING'S THE MATTER!" He had a forced smile on his face, sweat on his brow bone, and he refused to meet your eyes. "I AM DEFINITELY NOT ON THE LOOKOUT FOR SOMEONE THAT HAS THREATENED THE ROYAL FAMILY."

At that, you heard Asgore sigh. "Papyrus, we talked about this…" He turned around to look at you and him. You looked back at him. "It's really not that serious, G. I promise you. Papyrus just wanted to make sure I got home safely."

The kids regarded the monster King worriedly. "Does Toriel know about this?" you asked softly. He shook his head 'no.' You nodded, then looked to Papyrus. "Pap, why don't you come inside?" you asked.

"BUT I AM TO STAND GUARD OUT HERE, TO MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE COMES IN TO HARM ANYONE!" he responded, turning around so his back was to you. He struck a regal pose. But even with that regal pose, he looked… stressed. You tapped his upper arm to get his attention. He looked down at you.

"You can make sure no one gets hurt if you're in here with them. And you can hang out with Frisk and Gloria while you're at it!" His brow bone furrowed for a second.

"WELL… THAT DOES SOUND DELIGHTFUL AND TEMPTING…" Frisk must've signed something, because he looked behind you before smiling widely. This time, it was a _genuine_ smile. "YES, I THINK I SHALL DO THAT! I WILL GUARD EVERYONE _INSIDE_ THE HOUSE! AND PLAY WITH FRISK AND GLORIA WHILE I AM HERE!" He stepped in right after saying that.

You offered him a smile, "Good. I already feel safer."

"OF COURSE YOU DO! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM THE STRONGEST OF STRONG! THE MOST INTIMIDATING OF INTIMIDATING! AND I CAN SUMMON BONES OUT OF NOTHING! I MEAN, IF THAT DOESN'T SCREAM 'CAPABLE ROYAL GUARD' TO YOU I DON'T KNOW WHAT WOULD!" You chuckled softly at that before looking to Frisk.

Gloria might not be able to understand what needed to be done next, but Frisk surely would.

They locked eyes with you, nodding quickly before running up and grabbing Papyrus' hand. They signed to him, " _Papy, let's go into the living room! We have coloring books and a new Junior Jumble book! We can all play in there!_ " Gloria looked confused, but nonetheless giggled and pulled at the skeleton, too.

"Yeah, Papy! Let's go solve a Junior Jumble together! You can save my brain that way!" The group made its way to the living room, leaving you and Asgore standing in the foyer. There was a thick silence overtop you two.

You broke it first, walking past him. "Well, it's time to tell Toriel, Asgore." He looked frightened at that, reaching a hand out to stop you.

"G, wait--!" His fuzzy paw barely touched your bicep before you turned around to glare at him.

"No, no waiting. Why would you wait to tell her that? This is your _family_ , Asgore, and they need to be kept in the loop about their safety." You stared at him evenly. "This is your wife and child we're talking about. Can't you understand that?"

"I know. I'm just… worried, to tell her this." He looked away from you, his eyes glazing over. He was in his head. "I don't know how she'll take it, knowing that her child is in danger again…"

Your interest was peaked at 'again,' but you pushed the thought aside. You turned around to start walking again. "You won't know until you tell her. And she deserves to know, she deserves to hear it coming from _you._ And you know if you don't tell her--"

"You will." You looked at him over your shoulder. He had a sad smile on his face. "You're a good friend to Toriel, G."

"I try to be."

You two stood in awkward silence once again. He shuffled his feet before looking forward. His 'scared father' look morphed into his 'regal king' look and he walked towards the kitchen.

You followed, making sure the job was done properly.

As soon as you two stepped into the kitchen, Toriel was already standing there, looking at her hands coldly. "There's been a threat placed on our family?" she asked softly, but her tone wasn't gentle - it was as cold as ice.

Asgore nodded, "Yes. I--"

"I'm glad you told me." She looked at him, then nodded to you. You nodded right back. "What did it say?" At this, you started to walk away. It wasn't your business to hear this.

You did catch his response, though. "It said, 'Prepare yourselves, Dreemurrs. I'm coming for their soul.' It was signed with a red heart… I think it was meant to be a soul."

At that, you shuddered. _Their soul_...? Frisk's soul? But _why?_

Should you learn how to protect yourself, so you could protect both Frisk and Gloria?

You walked back to the living room, pulling your phone out of your bag. You tapped on your most recent text conversation as you fell onto the couch. All three of them glanced at you worriedly before turning back to their coloring and Junior Jumble solving.

**Me**  
**Hey, sorry to bring this up suddenly, but how strong has my magic gotten?**

**sans**  
**wow, how dare you bring this up so suddenly.**

**Me**  
**Haha, wow, you're hilarious. Answer the damn question, Sans.**

**sans**  
**yeesh, tough crowd tonight. it's pretty strong at this point. i i-MAGI-ne that you've felt it flare up at some point. why?**

**Me**  
**I'll tell you after you answer this: our magic is the same color, right? Blue?**

**sans**  
**just ignoring that? alright, i'll give it to you. it wasn't my finest work. but yeah, we both got blue magic. now tell me why you're asking, or i'll BLUE you off next time you have a question for me.**

**Me**  
**Could you teach me how to use it?**

A couple minutes went by, and you checked your phone every fifteen seconds.

**sans**  
**you want to learn how to use your magic?**

**Me**  
**Yes.**

**sans**  
**why the fuck do you want to learn how to use your magic?**

Should you tell him? It wasn't your business to… But… You looked at Papyrus, who was fidgeting even as he solved the puzzle. But Papyrus wouldn't be able to keep that secret for very long. Sans was going to find out.

It would probably be better for him to hear it from you, right then. As much as you adored Papyrus, if he spilled it to Sans, he'd probably be freaking out too much to properly explain it. And then Sans would have his brother's anxiety on top of that, and it wouldn't work out too well. He loved his brother and loved Frisk, and if he heard someone was trying to hurt them, he'd probably go on some kind of rampage trying to track them down.

**Me**  
**Someone's threatened the Dreemurrs. I think they're going to try and go after Frisk's soul for some reason. I'd like to be able to protect my kids when they're with me, and magic seems like the best way to go. No weapons needed.**

You waited for his response.

And waited.

And waited.

Four minutes had gone by, and you were beginning to think that you had fucked up. He was probably rampaging right at that moment. Until he appeared on the couch beside you, greeted the kids and Papyrus, grabbed your bicep, and pulled you through one of his shortcuts.

The vertigo hit you first, and you leaned against him to keep yourself from falling. The world was spinning and it was making you sick. He caught you, holding you by your arms and supporting your weight. After a moment, you pulled away only to feel your legs go numb. You collapsed to the floor, holding him by his wrists.

You glared up at him once it all passed. He blinked at you before smiling awkwardly. "to be fair, i didn't think this would happen. the kid went through my shortcuts just fine in the underground."

You looked around, seeing that you landed in a foreign living room. Green couch, bone painting, a sock covered in sticky notes. If you could have thought clearly, you probably would've realized where you were. "Where did you bring me, Sans? Oh, wait, actually: why did you bring me here!?" He helped you up, supporting you once again when you swayed.

"i brought you to our place. and you said you wanted to learn how to use your magic." His eye sockets went dark, "someone really threatened the kid?"

"I heard it from Asgore. Mind you, I _really_ wasn't trying to hear it or anything. I only knew about it because Papyrus walked him home and was going to stay outside to guard the house and I asked why. Your brother, your _sweet, innocent_ brother, can not lie for the life of him. Basically told me he was guarding the place because someone threatened the Dreemurrs. But Asgore wasn't going to tell Tori and I wasn't going to let that shit slide. So I heard it when I made him tell her." You realized you were still holding his hands, letting them go to wander around. Why were his palms so sweaty? Or was the sweat _yours_?

"anything of note about the threat?" he asked as he followed you.

"It was signed with a red heart. Asgore thinks it was supposed to be a soul." You crouched to read the sticky notes. It was a war between the brothers over Sans' sock. Had the situation been different, you probably would've laughed at it.

The older brother stood behind you, "a red soul?"

"Yeah." He grabbed your bicep again, pulling you up. You ripped your arm from him, turning to glare. "Stop manhandling me! Just talk to me, god!"

His brow bones furrowed, but he looked worried rather than agitated. "look. a red soul as a signature has been a calling card for _one_ duster. we don't know who they are, but they're powerful." You blinked at that. A… duster? Was that a monster killer? Was that what they _called_ monster killers? It was morbid. And… this duster was after Frisk? What the fuck!

"A duster wants Frisk's soul!? Why the hell would they want it!?" You felt something crackle within you. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt them - I'm not going to let them hurt anyone in my family!"

Sans grabbed your face, forcing you to lock eyes with him. "hey. hey, look here. focus on this right now, okay? answer this: when are you free next?" he asked softly.

You responded immediately, "Saturday. Undyne and Alphys offered to take Frisk to the movies, and they extended the offer to Gloria too. So while she was gone, I was gonna discuss some soul and Void things with Gaster." You two held your gazes. He let go of your face moving to press his hand against your sternum. You felt a thrumming in your chest. Was that your soul or your heart, and why would either be doing that? "Sans?"

"your magic's strong, but you're not use to having so much so it's volatile. if you want to be able to _weaponize_ it, we have to start training right away. i'll be over saturday, pretty early in the morning. alright?" His voice wasn't louder than a whisper.

"Yeah, that's alright." You two stood like that, his hand against your sternum and your gazes locked. After a moment, you broke the silence. Awkwardly, you looked away and rubbed at your birthmark. "Uh, hey, can we go back to Toriel's now? My car and my _kid_ are there, and I was offered dinner."

That broke him out of his thoughts. "oh. oh! oh, shit, yeah, you probably want all of that, don't you? haha. ha. yeah. i'll, uh, i'll give you the grand tour- _iel_ of our place later." You groaned at that. His grin came back, just a bit. "alright, we're gonna take a shortcut again. you shouldn't get so sick this time. i strongly recommend holding onto some part of me, because if you get lost in that in-between area i can't guarantee that i'll be able to find you."

"Oh cool, you could basically lose me in space-time. Great. Great. Hold my hand." You grabbed his hand tightly, squeezing it. He squeezed back. "'Don't let go, Rose.'" you half-quoted lamely.

He grinned, "'i'll never let go, jack.'" Oh, he knew Titanic? Cool, cool--

And, one second you were in his living room, the next you were in Toriel's. It felt like you had just blinked. Oh, and there was the vertigo!

Gloria knocked you onto the couch, hugging you tightly. "Mama! Mama!" she cried into you. You hugged her back, partially to comfort her and partially to keep the room from spinning. Once your head was cleared, you looked at her. "I thought Sans stole you and I was gonna be upset."

"golly _g_ , gloria, you _shortcut_ me deep with that accusation!"

You and Papyrus groaned. That's it, the tall, orange skeleton was your favorite of the two brothers. At least he gets it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just checked my statistics  
> to the 98 of you that subscribed to this story, thanks! :D  
> to my bookmarkers, both public and private, thank you too!  
> and to my kudoers: a big ol' fat thank you!


	12. G(aster)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Gaster talk Friday evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what another upload so sooon!?!?
> 
> yeah, lol. this one is just a short exposition/filler chapter, cause the next one is probably gonna be HUGE. so it'll take a while to write. lolol.

Gaster didn't like the fact that Sans was coming over, _at all._

" **I don't understand why he has to come _here_ to teach you,** " he had whined Friday evening. You had just put Gloria to bed and you were _tired_ , so you really didn't want to bicker with him.

"He's coming here, so deal with it, Gaster," you said, probably more snippy than necessary. He gazed at you evenly from his spot in your armchair. "He says I have strong magic and I want to utilize it. I want to be able to keep my family safe, especially if there's someone out there that wants to hurt them. This just seems like the best way."

" **I understand your reasoning behind it, G. It's just that...** " He set his hands in his lap, looking away from you to stare at the holes in his palms. " **...I could always teach you how to use your magic. I taught _him_ how to use his. Why bring him in when I can do the same thing?** " You blinked at that, turning away from your desk and and pushing hair behind your ear.

"You act like you don't want him here, Gaster. Look, he's my friend and I went to _him_ for this. I'm not going to blow him off. 'Hey, yeah, I need to cancel. Your incorporeal father just offered to teach me magic! You know, the one only Seers like me can see? Yeah, that father!'" You deadpanned at him. "Besides, I thought you'd be all gung ho for him coming over. He's your _son_ , after all… Though…" You looked at his twitching hands contemplatively. "You did disappear when he first came over."

There was a static feeling in the room, and you looked up to see Gaster's eye lights turn bright purple. He had told you that his magic was minimal at best due to the Void, but he still had some. " **It's family business. It's not important for you to know right now.** " There was a tone to his voice that suggested you drop the subject.

"It _is_ important for me to know, dammit! You haunt _my_ house and get upset when I invite _your_ son, one of _my_ friends, over! You told me you needed me, and you have yet to tell me why." You stood up and walked over to him, bending down to look him in the eye evenly. "Does it have something to do with this 'family business,' Gaster?"

Under his breath, he muttered your real name. You stepped back at that, glaring at him. Where had he learned that!? You hadn't been called that in such a long time! " **I implore you to drop this subject.** " The purple from his eye lights turned back to pure white, and he looked like he was pleading with you. " **Please. _Please,_ drop the subject. Sans is coming over and there's nothing I can do about it. Please… We can discuss it later. Just…** "

He sounded genuinely distressed. But why? What did Sans have to do with this? What had happened between these two skeletons?

"Alright, Gaster. I'll… I'll drop it." You took another step back, looking between him and your desk. "Where did you learn my name?" you asked softly. His frown grew into a soft smile, one that cause his eye sockets to crinkle slightly.

" **I have been with you and Gloria in multiple timelines, G. I picked it up at some point.** " You nodded. It was weird that he talked about you from other timelines. Apparently, you and Gloria were in every timeline that had involved the monsters escaping from Ebott. You two always played a role somehow. " **I've learned a lot about you from each timeline.** " He still had that gentle smile on his face, looking at you with some kind of affection. It was a look you had seen before, but you couldn't remember where.

"Yeah. You probably have…" You looked away from him. "Then you should know that I don't have many positive feelings about that name. Please… don't call me that."

" **I'm sorry. I forgot that it wasn't something you liked. But, it's a pretty name. Why don't you use it?** " You sighed, going to sit back in your desk chair. He watched as you gestured to the paperwork.

You huffed out, "I use it for bills and stuff… And you should know that, if our presence is consistent in every timeline."

He grinned at you, " **You know what I mean. And,** " his smile fell, " **you've never actually told me. This is the closest we've ever been, in any timeline. I suppose that's good, since I can no longer jump between them. It's nice to have companions that are… kind.** "

"Heh. Yeah, I guess that is good." After a moment of contemplating, you touched your birthmark. "Seers are typically put up for adoption, unless they're born into a Seeing family. I wasn't lucky. You knew that, though. Gloria's father, Darren, was one of the lucky ones. Was born into this _huge_ Seeing group. I met him in middle school after I had to go to another foster home. I despised him, at first. Such a happy kid. I thought he was an asshole.

I had troubles stopping the Sight for a long time. I would go every where, just Seeing the people around me's souls. The Sight really twists how you think of people. You think you understand someone just from one glance - you don't. You get a basic understanding, but you don't _know_ someone from just one look. But I didn't know that at that time. I was just some cynical kid.

The only time I didn't see souls was when I danced. I loved ballet when I was younger, and it was the only thing that took my mind off the fact that I could see my peers' very being. When you dance, you move so fast that the world blurs. One color blends into another color, and that color into another… Everything is one, and nothing is more important or pressing than anything else. I ended up enrolling in an evening ballet class, since the region's foster care program took me on as a full time dependent. I switched houses, but never schools.

The ballet class was run by Darren's older sister, Marguerite. She had a Seer birthmark underneath her eye, but it was only slightly bigger than a mole. It looked like she had just drawn it on with purple sharpie. For a while, I genuinely believed that she drew it on every morning… I didn't know about other Seers at that point. But Darren rushed into the class one night, all starry eyed and flushed, to grab me and talk. Talked to me about the birthmark on my neck. Told me everything about Seers and offered to have his family teach me.

I agreed, clearly. After ballet lessons, it became normal for me to stay for a couple hours to learn about Seeing. Darren's baby brother, Marco, started calling me Grace. Always told me that Grace was a name to be given to someone that was truly beautiful. And Grace… Grace was a nice change from _that._ It was a name with _meaning_ , not something picked out by a mother that dropped me off as soon as she could. Eventually, though, it was just shortened to G. And I liked it. I liked having a name that was given to me by people that care."

" **You're crying.** " You blinked, raising a hand to touch your eyes. You were indeed crying. You hadn't felt it come on at all. Gaster looked at you with that look. The one you couldn't name. " **I didn't realize you were such a sentimental woman, G.** "

"I like things that have meaning," you sighed, pulling the sleeve of your hoodie over your hand to rub the tears off your cheeks. "It's just part of who I am."

He laughed, a rich sound that made you feel safe. " **That's fine. It's good to be sentimental sometimes…** " He stopped himself, his brow bone furrowing. " **I'm… worried about Sans coming here.** "

You stared at him curiously. "I get that, Gaster. I don't know why, but I get that you're worried." There was another moment of silence. You wondered if he was going to--

" **I… This will be the first time in a long time - long, even for me - that I will see him up close. We had a fight before I fell into the Core. It was a petty thing, what we fought over. He wanted me to take some time to be with him and Papyrus - they were still _children_ at that point. I had been so focused on finishing the Core, _proving_ to him that what I doing wasn't for nothing, that I had neglected them.** "

"That was an asshole-ish thing to do," you said softly. He chuckled again.

" **I know that, now. But the Core was so powerful, so awe inspiring… I was going crazy trying to finish it. I know that ignoring them was the wrong thing to do. As pitiful as this sounds, I'm worried to face him, _especially_ now that there's someone that can communicate to him for me… I don't even know if he remembers me in this timeline...** " He glanced at you again, that same worried look on his face.

"Oh, shit. Uh… He knows." That caused Gaster to shoot up suddenly. "I meant to tell you, but what with Gloria going to school and my appointments and now _this_ stuff, I forgot. When we went to Toriel's barbeque, he pulled me aside and asked what I knew about you. He seemed adamant to know what I knew. So I told him. Oh, Lord, now I have to prepare for a tense family reunion on top of all this shit."

You looked to Gaster, who had a wide smile on his face. " **Sans remembered me?** " You nodded. " **Do you know if Papyrus does, too?** " He sounded hopeful. You shook your head.

"Didn't get that far, sorry. I don't know if remembering you was an issue in other timelines, but Sans definitely remembers." You watched as his smile softened while he looked at you.

" **I'll take what I can get for now… I don't know if I'll stay in the house tomorrow, but… Thank you. I'll try to do what I can tomorrow.** "

"That's all you can do, Gaster." You turned back to your paperwork. "Everything has to work out eventually. It's up to you to try to make it work out _well._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you guys wanna see the cast list, you can find it [here on my tumblr](https://acoolegg.tumblr.com/post/159923508458/2020-sight-current-and-future-cast-just-a-height) or [ here on my deviantart](http://acoolegg.deviantart.com/art/20-20-Sight-Current-and-Future-Cast-676760221)!


	13. Saturday Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You send Gloria on her way with Alphys, Undyne, and Frisk.
> 
> Oh, and also Sans finds out Gaster's just hanging around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this had to be broken up OMG  
> it's already 3000+ words  
> 2 (maybe 3) parter for you guys

Saturday morning came _far_ too fast after your talk with Gaster. 7:47 A.M. came and Gloria shoved herself into your bed. "Mama! Mama! Undie and Alphie are gonna be here at nine! I gotta - I gotta get ready!" She pushed your shoulders, groaning when you refused to move. You grinned to yourself. "Don't just lay there, Mama! We gotta get up! You gotta help me look cute!"

At that, you rolled over and tickled her. "Gloria, you're always cute! I don't have to help you at all!" She screamed loudly between her laughs, pushing at your shoulders. You kept going, "The cutest daughter ever. Everyone already thinks you're cute!"

"Mama, stop it!" There was a push on your chest, something too strong to be her tiny shoves. You felt frozen in place. You looked at her, seeing her pant heavily. Her green birthmark had a tinge of blue in the middle. "No more tickles! No more!" She pulled out from under you, running out of your room and hiding behind the doorframe.

The feeling of being held in place was gone. You looked at her, feeling the air around her crackle with energy. The blue in her birthmark had disappeared. "Alrighty, alrighty," you said, sitting up straight and rubbing at your hair. "I'm not gonna tickle you anymore, sweetie. Why don't you head to your room and find an outfit to put on? I'll get breakfast together."

She smiled widely at you, "Okay, Mama!" Then she scampered off towards her room, humming something. You pressed your hand against your chest, feeling your heart thrumming quickly. Gloria couldn't have used magic on you, right? Especially _blue_ magic. Sans had told you that blue magic had something to do with gravity, but to be able to hold someone in place…

You could always ask him. He was supposed to be over soon. You thought that she was only supposed to be able to use green magic. And the fact that she had been able to use it so decisively--

You stood up, walking towards the kitchen after grabbing your phone and shutting your alarm off. It was a french toast and black coffee kind of morning. You went about getting the food together, eventually ending at your griddle. Gloria came back out after a few moments, dressed in a striped sweater Frisk had gifted her and a pair of jeans. She was struggling to tie her hair up, but her star pin was already pinned into her bangs.

"Need help?" you offered, taking the last piece of french toast off the griddle and setting it to the side. You'd offer it to Sans when he arrived. Gloria nodded, turning around so you had better access to her hair. When you started to put it up, you noticed how sticky and warm the skin on the back of her neck was. Was she sweating? "Gloria, are you sick?"

"No, Mama. I feel good! I'm really tired, but I'm good." She pulled her pin out of her hair so you could pull everything together properly.

"Really tired?" you asked softly, hoping she would clarify.

"When you tickled me earlier, it made me really sleepy to get you to stop. It felt like all my energy was sapped up! But I think I'll be okay once I eat." She definitely didn't know she had used blue magic. Was that possible? Was it possible for someone to _use_ magic and be completely unaware of it?

Another question for Sans, it seemed. You ruffled her ponytail once it was up, saying softly, "Your hair's all done, Glor." She turned around and smiled up at you. You smiled back. "There's a plate with french toast on the counter for you. Why don't you go get it and eat up?" She nodded again, skipping off to grab the plate. Your smile fell.

She hadn't purposefully used magic on you. The thought that she had had terrified you, but knowing she hadn't… It made you feel safe. And you hated that you had felt _unsafe_ around your daughter for even a moment. What kind of mother were you, to feel like that? Gloria was your _daughter._ You loved her, and she loved you. She would _never_ try to hurt you.

The voice in the back of your head whispered softly. _Would she, though? She's a child with magic. Two kinds of magic, apparently._ You pushed it out of your mind. For now, you had to focus on breakfast and learning your own magic.

You sat beside Gloria, resolving to have a normal breakfast with her. You two talked and she explained what she was excited about for the day. She was excited for the movie, but then Alphys had apparently mentioned a glow-in-the-dark putt-putt course near the theatre with an anime theme, and that was tacked onto the day. Then they were going to go to the park and have lunch, and then they'd go back to Aunt Tori's house, and then, _and then_.

For a moment, you thought about how this would be your first time meeting Alphys, even in passing. Gloria had talked with her a few times a Toriel's and apparently _loved_ her. You trusted her, though. She was Undyne's girlfriend and - as bad as this was to even think - Toriel trusted the pair with Frisk, so it was clear that you were good to trust them with your daughter.

You shot up in your chair when you felt the crackle of magic in the air. Gloria jumped out of her chair and ran around the table, jumping and catching onto Sans' arm. "Sans! Good morning!" she cried happily. You watched, amused, as the skeleton attempted to shake her off of his arm before giving up and letting her hang there. He lowered his arm so she stood on the ground but she then wrapped her arms around his midsection (how did that work?) in a hug.

"yeah, morning, glory." He smiled down at her, patting her head. The action looked awkward for him. He hung around Frisk all the time, and they did the same thing. Was he uncomfortable with Gloria doing it? It would make sense - he had known Frisk for a longer amount of time, whereas he had only known Gloria for, what, almost three months?

...another thing to ask him later.

You stood up and walked over to the duo, pulling Gloria off. "Glor, let him have some space to breath," you said without thinking.

"He doesn't need to breath, Mama, he's a skeleton!" she shot back, looking up at you. She had a silly smile on her face, "Did you forget that?"

Sans snorted. You gave him a look before setting her back down, one that caused him to shut up. "I know he's a skeleton, Gloria. I haven't forgotten that yet." She giggled. "Go finish up your breakfast. It's," you checked your phone, "almost nine. Frisk, Alphys, and Undyne will be here soon." At that, she nodded hurriedly and ran back to her spot, shoving more of her toast into her mouth. You looked back to Sans, "Morning… Wasn't expecting you to pop in like that."

"was that a pun?" he asked with a smug smile. You shook your head with a small huff (you did not _pun_ ), walking towards the counter and picking up the french toast you had set aside. He followed you, watching as you went about reheating it. "you ready for today?" he said quietly. You glanced down at him then over to Gloria, who was kicking her feet back and forth. You and Sans had decided that it'd probably be best not to tell her about your magic lesson, so you had told her that Sans was helping you with some things around the house today.

"I think I am," you responded, voice just as soft. The microwave went off and you pulled the plate out. "I set some aside for you… Probably should've asked if you wanted it before I reheated it." He shrugged, taking the plate from your hands.

"i'll still eat it. s'rude not to." He looked at it contemplatively. "'sides, it looks good." You couldn't help but smile to yourself as you pulled a fork out for him. It made you happy that he'd eat it. It made you happy that he thought it looked good. You stopped at that thought; when had you grown so affectionate over Sans? "y'okay there, g?" His voice snapped you out of your thoughts. You handed him the fork.

"I was thinking about you again," you answered honestly, brows furrowing. "I hadn't realized how close I am to you, and it kinda just… hit me." Sans eyed you as he leaned against the counter to eat. His cheeks had that embarrassed flush again. You figured it was because you basically just told him you care about him _a lot_.

You looked back to Gloria, who was tugging at the end of her ponytail. Just as you were about to stop her, there was a loud knock (followed by 'ARE YOU NERDS AWAKE!?') at your front door. Gloria jumped up and ran for the stairs, barely managing to grab her jacket off the hook by the curtain. You grinned and followed after her, picking up her little bag (packed with her favorite candy and a couple capri-suns, as well as twenty bucks for her stuff) and boots. When you turned to look at Sans, he waved his hand dismissively.

"i'll be here when you come back up--"

There was the sound of footsteps rocketing up the stairs again, and Gloria collided with your stomach. You grinned at her, "Forget something?"

"Yeah! Sorry, I'm excited!" She tugged her boots on and slung her bag over her shoulders, calling down the stairs, "I'm coming, Frisk, I'll be there in a moment! I forgot my stuff!" You ruffled her hair and stepped around her, heading down the stairs to greet her temporary guardians. You activated your Sight so you could talk to Frisk comfortably. You vaguely heard her call out, "Bye Sans! Bye Gaster!"

You felt your heart stop at that. _Shit._ Okay, okay, nothing you couldn't work with. Just a Voidman that only _you_ could see and his estranged skeleton son. You stepped into your main room, seeing Undyne, Frisk, and who you assumed to be Alphys. She was a short lizard (or maybe dinosaur?) like monster that wore large, round glasses and an anime t-shirt.

Undyne turned to you after looking around your workplace, an excited smirk on her face. "So _THIS_ is where you do all that Seeing stuff, huh!?" she asked, looking around the room once more. Alphys followed after her, looking at you nervously. The fish woman caught on to that, looking down at her girlfriend lovingly. "Ah, you haven't met my Alphie yet, have you? She was busy when we had the barbeque - official science-y business! But she's the best."

" _Yeah! Alphys is really sweet - and really smart! She's also a huge nerd!_ " Frisk signed as they spoke, their soul pulsing happily. You hadn't looked at the other's souls, trying to respect their privacy. When you had looked at Undyne's at the party, it had been your curiosity more than anything else. Now, though… It felt wrong. These were your friends, and you respected their privacy.

But you still noticed the two tones of yellow that filled the room.

You prepared to respond, barely opening up your mouth. Gloria chose that moment to sprint into Frisk, tackling them in a hug. The pair laughed happily while Undyne cheered the younger on ('That's it, squirt, ASSERT YOUR DOMINANCE!'). You smiled at that before looking back to Alphys. She didn't seem very comfortable. "Alphys," you said gently, causing her to jump. She looked to you and you noticed the sweat beading on her cheeks. God, she was nervous. You extended your hand, "I'm G. I really appreciate you and Undyne taking Gloria with you. She's been really excited."

The tiny monster regarded your hand with an anxious look before hesitantly putting her own on yours. Her palm was sweaty as she squeezed. When you squeezed back, a small smile made its way to her face. "W-w-well, when we o-offered Frisk to go to the movies, t-they were r-r-r-eally insistent that we b-bring Glo-Gloria, too. A-and Gloria has b-b-been really sweet and k-kind, so it made s-sense to bring her along." She fiddled with adjusting her glasses as soon as you let go of her hand.

"And I'm really thankful for that. Gloria absolutely adores you." She looked up at you, an orange magic-blush coming to her cheeks. "Whenever she sees you at Toriel's while she's there, she always tells me about it. She thinks that you're really cute." At this, Alphys looked over her shoulder to look at your daughter, who was in the crook of Undyne's arm. "She says that you're really smart, too. You used to be the Royal Scientist, right?"

She nodded, playing with her fingers. "Y-yeah. I-I'm just a professor now, th-though."

"That's still pretty prestigious." There was a crackle of magic, and Sans was beside you suddenly. You smiled at him, "Oh, you decided to join us?" The look he gave you was cold, his smile not touching his eye sockets at all. Ah, yes. _Gaster_ was still in your house.

"yeah, thought i'd see everyone off, too." You didn't miss how Alphys gawked at you, her mouth opening slightly as she quickly looked between you and Sans. Her face morphed into something _excited_ and you were hesitant to ask why. He looked across you, bowing his skull forward in a mock-greeting to Alphys. "mornin', alph."

Frisk somehow convinced Undyne to let go of them and they ran up to Sans, launching themselves at him. They caught onto his arm and he immediately pulled them into a hug. (It was _definitely_ a Frisk thing.) " _Sans! I didn't think you'd be here!_ " their soul cried, but they pulled away to sign it to him.

"Yeah, you bonehead, what are you even doin' here?" Undyne walked over to your group, Gloria still held in the crook of her arm.

She chose that moment to speak up, "He's helpin' Mama do stuff around the house!" You rolled your eyes good naturedly and smiled down at your daughter. You failed to notice how the other three looked between you and the skeleton. His cheekbones lit up with a blue blush and he buried himself into the fluff of his hoodie to hide from their invasive stares.

"I figured that today would be a good day to do some rearranging, since you guys were taking Gloria out." You felt ill as the lie came out of your mouth, choosing to look towards your desk so you didn't have to lock eyes with them. This was stupid, you could just _tell_ them you were learning magic, there'd be no harm (maybe)--

"And you c-chose to have _Sans_ help?" Alphys asked suddenly, her stutter practically gone and - were those _sparkles_ in her eyes? _WHY?_

Sans cut in quickly, relaxing slightly and smiling. "what can i say? when it comes to my furniture moving skills, i have g here _floored._ " You were glad that you weren't the only one that groaned, although Alphys, Frisk, and Gloria all laughed. Betrayed by your own daughter. How sad. "i figured i'd be doing her a solid if i _chair_ 'd my skills with her." At this point, you thought you heard Gaster groan from somewhere around you. He better not be hiding in your decorative bottles again. "i _bed_ you fifteen gold that when we're done, her kitchen will look so _knife_."

You felt Frisk's soul stutter for a second.

Knife?

...it was probably nothing…

You were about to send Sans upstairs before he could make another pun, but Undyne beat you to it; she grabbed his hood and pulled it over his head. There was a collective sigh of relief between you two, until he said, "this is _hood_ , i guess." At that, you ushered the leaving group towards your door. You half listened to Sans take his off and follow you.

"Alright, I don't want you guys to be late for your fun filled adventure. Undyne, Alphys, and Frisk all have my number, Glor, so if you need to get ahold of me you can." Your daughter nodded from her position in Undyne's arm. You looked to the two adults. "Gloria has twenty dollars in there to pay for her ticket and popcorn, as well as her putt-putt ticket. Anything left over she can use as she sees fit."

Undyne snorted, "Nah, we'll cover it. We invited _her_ out, G!"

You regarded the overly tall woman with a maternal fierceness. "Yeah, you invited her _out_ , not to pay for all her stuff." You watched as the girlfriends exchanged a look. You knew that conspiring look. Gloria and Frisk shared that look whenever they were planning to do something devious. You sighed, "I know you guys are going to completely disregard my request, so if you guys decide you want fast food or something just pay with her money, alright?"

Gloria nodded happily, "We can get Mc--" Her smile fell and she shook her head. She still hadn't gotten over the McDonald's incident. "We can get Wendy's!"

Alphys smiled, "A-alright, w-we'll consider that… G." She looked up at you bashfully. You smiled brightly. "Y-you're still going t-to pick her up at Toriel's, right?"

"Yep. If we're lucky, we'll finish in time to take her up on that dinner." The group nodded collectively at that before waving their goodbyes. You watched from your door as Alphys and Undyne carefully loaded the children into a four door hatchback (you were terrible with cars). Once everyone was in the car, Undyne slammed the horn while everyone else waved goodbye.

You waved back and made they were out of sight before you turned to Sans.

His soul radiated something sour. Oh yeah, _Gaster_. Estranged family. All that jazz. You raised your hands up in mock-surrender when you caught the look on his face. "I know you want to talk to Gaster and everything, but can you please teach me magic first?"

Sans looked at you evenly before shoving his hands into his pockets and sighing (with his eye sockets closed, the dramatic fuck). "i guess."

Your surroundings went black, and Sans went white. You couldn't tell if you were using your Sight anymore - pure whites and blacks offered you nothing. You felt your soul being pulled from your body, something similar to when Gloria pulled it out yet completely different. It floated before you, pulsing with that incredibly bright blue light. The fragment missing was the only thing that stood out.

Suddenly, you felt the weight of the world on your shoulders. You nearly fell to the ground, only managing to stay up because your knees locked. Your soul, on the other hand, plummeted. The feeling was eerily similar to when Gloria had held you in place.

A thought that you weren't sure was yours flickered into your mind.

***You're blue now.**

Your brow furrowed at that.

"I was blue before!"


	14. Pressure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans teaches you about confrontations and magic.
> 
> ...it probably could've gone better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so Some Random Dude said that they wondered about G and Sans in previous timelines, so i have a bunch of ideas for a spin off series about that. if anyone has ideas or AUs (because _those_ are different timelines as well!) they want me to write about for that spin off, comment below. i'll write up the first chapter of the spin off and post it later.
> 
> i also made an undertale animatic! it's got some suicide/depression stuff in it, so if you wanna watch it you can [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLbxUBiOzWQ).

Sans seemed genuinely impressed that you had managed to stay standing up, a fleeting look of surprise crossing his face. You had managed to catch your soul before it hit the ground and you kept it cradled to your chest. "What the hell, Sans? What is this shit!?"

"it helps to experience magic before you use it," he said simply, pulling his left hand from his pocket and raising his hand above his head. You felt the weight lift off of you, then felt your feet lift off the black ground. Your soul escaped your grasp and floated above your head. He put his hand back in his pocket. "and in order for you to really _experience_ it, i pulled you into a confrontation."

You remember hearing that word; it's what Gloria experienced with that Moldsmal. Was she pulled into this inky blackness, too? "Alright, cool, a confrontation. That sounds ominously dangerous." You looked down at your legs. The blackness around you made it really difficult to tell if you were off the ground, but you didn't feel anything beneath you. You kicked your legs around to check, nodding when you were certain that you were in the air.

Sans snickered (at your actions or at your words, you weren't sure). "confrontations don't _have_ to be bad. monsters use them for a few different things: practicing our magic on one another, fighting, or getting across their feelings with their souls, and with monsters a confrontation is all about intent. curiosity, anger, love, sadness… a confrontation can get across all those feelings and more."

"I don't feel anything, though," you responded while you experimented with your floating-ness. You twisted yourself into the air, legs over your head. Your hair dangled towards the ground.

"it's because you and i are both experiencing the same thing: curiosity. when emotions match up, it creates a neutral environment - if our emotions were numbers, we'd both be a one. one multiplied by one is still one… with a confrontation, there are a few different things you can do. like i said earlier, we use them for a few different things. that means there's a few different things you can do." He gestured to to the area before you, causing you to strain your eyes.

The voice was back. ***Would you like to… Fight? Act? Use an Item? Or use Mercy?**

"whatever you do, don't fight me. you'd have a bad time."

"Noted. Anything else I shouldn't do?"

"nah. acting lets you do a couple different things: you can check a monster's stats, and it offers you a couple suggestions on how to approach them. items are just that: item. whatever you have on hand can be used, but it acts as a turn. mercy lets you spare or flee a battle."

You regarded his upside down face with an interested stare. He talked like there was a menu in front of you, rather than a tired sounding voice in your brain. "Alrighty then. What do you want me to do?"

"check me out?" he offered with a laugh.

"I've done that already," you absently responded. He looked surprised.

_Check?_

The voice responded.

**SANS 1 ATK 1 DEF**  
**A close friend.**  
**He wants you to know that he only has 1 HP.**

"Not the strongest, are you?" you asked. There was no malice or teasing to your tone.

You two shared a gaze before he chuckled, "the check told you that? jeesh. no, i'm not." You were flipped rightside up and lowered back to the ground. "alright, i'm checking you out, too." Your soul no longer felt like it carried something else. Another thought you weren't sure was yours flickered through your head.

***You're no longer blue.**

You wanted to point out that, _yes, you were actually still blue, you just weren't under the effect of blue magic_ but you doubted the disembodied voice that had taken up residence in the front of your brain would care. You bounced on the balls of your feet, waiting to do something else.

"huh."

"What?"

"your stats are pretty good. nothing super out of the ordinary for a human like you." Like you? You must've made a face, because Sans laughed. "that's a good thing. it means you haven't hurt or," he shoved his hands into his pockets, kicking at the black ground, " _killed_ a monster. you have no exp or lv and you're at 79 atk and 95 def. what's really interesting is your hp. your current HP is at 3,986. that's higher than asgore's."

"That's good, right?" His eye lights lingered on your soul.

"yeah. but that's just your _current_ hp. i think you're kept in a permanent state of injury 'cause of _that._ " He pointed at you. You looked to the hole in your soul. "it says that your max hp is over 5,000. it makes me wonder how strong gloria's soul is…"

"You're not allowed to pull her into a confrontation," you automatically respond, narrowing your eyes. He waved his hand dismissively.

"i don't have to. i can check her stats at any point."

"...dunno how I feel about that." You shrugged your shoulders. Well, whatever. As long as she wasn't pulled into another confrontation, you were okay. "I guess this all makes sense. _I guess._ But I think there might be an issue with this whole confrontation system, at least from a human perspective: this red soul asshole is _probably_ human. And, from what it sounds like to me, only monsters can pull others into a confrontation. How am I supposed to use this magic with--"

You stopped talking when you remembered Gloria using blue magic on you earlier. You two hadn't been in a confrontation. Sans lifted a brow bone, intrigued by your sudden stop. "something the matter, g?"

"Magic can be used outside of confrontations," you responded without a thought. "You can teleport outside of a confrontation - that's magic…" Your brow furrowed, "But I only made the connection because Gloria used blue magic on me this morning without realizing it."

"she used… _blue_ magic?" He sounded surprised. And a bit scared. You nodded, mouth twisting as you thought. "without _realizing_ it?"

"Yeah. I tickled her and she didn't want me to, so she stopped me. I felt _frozen_ and I just happened to see that her birthmark had some blue in it. The color faded once I was able to move again. She got all sweaty and said that she felt really tired, but she recovered after breakfast." You looked at your own soul. "Do you think I gave her blue magic?"

Sans rubbed his forehead. He wasn't looking at you anymore; his face was tight and his smile had fallen into a contemplative frown. "it's not unusual for monsters to be able to use multiple kinds of magic, but for a _human?_ i'd have to do some research on it…" He glanced back at you, "alright. back to this then. i'm sparing you now."

***Sans is sparing you.**

_I know that--_

***S h u t u p.**

_Oh okay._

You should probably feel more worried about the voice in your head than what you were. "What am I supposed to do now?" you asked, looking around the black expanse once again. Nothing changed.

"you have to spare me now. when both parties mutually spare one another, then the confrontation is over." You gave him a look, one that said 'okay, but how do I _do_ that?' "say that you spare me."

"I spare you?" As soon as the words fell out of your mouth, the blackness went away and color returned to your world. Your soul went back into your chest. So if you got into a confrontation with your Sight on, it would be off when you came out. Good to know.

You felt pressure on your core again, feeling the weight of the world press on your shoulders once again. You fell to the ground, catching yourself on your hands so you didn't end up with your face smashed to the floor. You noticed apprehensively that your front door was still opened. Sans walked towards you, shutting your door before looking down at him. The weight was gone once again, and then you felt light and found yourself hovering in the air.

You looked over at Sans, narrowing your eyes. Finally, you were placed back on the ground. "blue magic specializes in altering the gravitation pull on someone's soul - it doesn't matter whether or not you can _see_ their soul. as long as they have a soul you can mess with its pull. it's convenient for pulling or pushing opponents into attacks."

"So blue magic doesn't give me cool teleportation powers or telekinesis?" you asked, feeling somewhat disappointed. Being able to throw assholes that could hurt your family at will would be nice, but telekinesis would be _really_ helpful when you were cleaning.

"nah, that's a me thing. individual magic is pretty common among monsters. like, _pap's_ magic is incredible. his bone attacks are amazingly powerful if he allows them to go full force, and his special attack could wipe out an entire town if he focused hard enough."

"Is this the right Papyrus we're talking about?" you asked carefully, raising a brow. Sans looked up at you, seemingly offended, before nodding. You shrugged, "Alright, I'll keep that in mind. 'Papyrus has an attack that could wipe out a town if he really, _really_ wanted to.'" You sighed, "No teleportation or telekinesis. Damn… Well, guess I better start learning how to manipulate the gravity around souls… Where do I start?"

The skeleton blinked two times. "eager, huh?" he asked, grinning up at you. You nodded and offered him a smile. "alright, you need to center yourself." He watched as you adjusted yourself so you had your weight evenly distributed on both legs. You glanced up from where you had been staring off when he snorted. "i didn't mean _physically_ , but if that helps i won't stop you. center yourself _emotionally_. find that soul of yours within yourself, feel the magic."

"Easier said than done," you muttered under your breath. You placed a hand against your sternum, where your soul would usually sit, trying to feel the magic flow within you. You felt nothing. Furrowing your brows, you closed your eyes and huffed. You were going to do this. You were going to learn how to control this newfound power so you could protect your family.

Again, nothing. No 'a-ha!' moment, no new power pulsing through your veins, _nothing._ Sans watched as you struggled, your hand moving from your chest to your birthmark, then to rub at your face. He opened his mouth to intervene, already feeling some stress come off of you. He jumped back when your eyes shot open, your birthmark crackling with your Seer magic.

You were using your Sight now.

Behind Sans lurked Gaster, who was worriedly looking at you. You locked eyes with him. Without caring, you said, "Any hints, Gaster?" Both men jumped at your voice. Sans whipped his head around to search for his estranged father, expression falling when he saw nothing. Gaster merely sent you his 'really?' look.

" **Don't center yourself. Condensing your magic into one place may not help, since this is your first time using it. Feel in in every part of you, not just your soul.** " You nodded along to his suggestion and stopped focusing on your soul. You raised a hand when you felt your birthmark crackle.

"might not want to touch that, sweetheart. it's pouring out potent magic." You looked back to Sans, trying to avoid looking directly at his soul. You could feel it pulsing wildly, though. "whatever he told you to do helped." Your eyes caught Gaster's.

"You're taking this much better than I expected," you said after a moment of contemplation. Sans didn't look at you. His soul locked up. "Alright, I've got my magic going. What next?"

" **Target Sans' soul.** "

"use it on my soul."

...like father, like son. Or something like that.

"...you alright with me seeing your soul? I think it'll help me out." He seemed hesitant, his smile faltering into a frown and the lights in his eye widening a bit. You kept your gaze locked with his. "I won't if you don't want me to."

"no, no, it's good. that's fine. look away." Your gaze immediately dropped to the cracked blue soul before you. You glanced at his face once more before pointing at his soul. There was a pressure against your chest. Sans searched your face. "alright, you're using your magic on me. i can feel it."

"Is it normal for my chest to tighten up while using it?" you coughed out. It was starting to hurt. You needed to push through the pain. You had to learn this.

" **Don't push yourself, G. This is your first time using _real_ magic--** "

"Answer the question, _someone._ Is it normal?"

"yeah. especially for those learning blue magic for the first time." The pressure only worsened as you tried to lift Sans off of the ground. You coughed again and again as you raised him barely an inch off of the ground. He reached for you, "g, stop it."

"Can't. Gotta learn." Yeah, short responses didn't hurt too much. You could work with that. Your soul was throbbing.

" **G, you can't keep doing this! You're hurting yourself!** " Gaster came towards you, ghosting over Sans. The Voidman pressed his hand against your soul. " **You're putting too much of a strain on your soul. You're going to cause more damage if you keep on like this.** "

You glared at Gaster. "I--" There was a thrumming in your ears. "I--!" You had to learn. You had to be able to keep everyone safe.

"g, let me go." You looked back to Sans. Your thoughts were foggy and you hurt. You started to slump forward. "g, _let me go!_ you're hurting yourself!" It sounded like he was talking underwater. Was your vision getting blurry? There was a new pressure on your soul. Blue magic? Was Sans using his magic on you? You let go of him as you fell to your knees.

You had to stay up so you could learn, you reasoned. It'd be rude to just pass out on Sans.

You held yourself up, supporting your weight on your hands and knees. " **Incredible.** " A sharp glance was shot to Gaster while you caught your breath. His eye lights were wide with some kind of emotion. " **G, you almost _killed_ yourself and then--** "

"your magic is way more potent than i thought." Sans was crouched beside you, touching your shoulder gently. "let's take a break, alright?"

You panted, but nodded. "'kay. Just a… couple minutes, alright?" You grabbed his hand. He helped you stand up. "What… was that?"

"that was suicidal, mostly." You gave him _the_ look. "when i say stop, you've got to stop. why the hell would you keep going?"

"I gotta learn. Thought I'd just work through the pain." He kept his hands on your forearms, helping you stay straight. "S'what I always do."

"yeah." Sans frowned. "i know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, if you have any ideas or AUs you want the g family to be in (for one shots!) comment below


	15. vulnerability

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sans takes care of g while she's hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol hi guys!
> 
> jsyk, i did post that spin-off fic. it's called 20/20 timelines, and it's the next work in the series. i'm taking suggestions for it over there! :D  
> thank you for reading!

g wasn't doing well. sans' healing magic was shit to none, and she only had a little bit of magic-infused food available, so her soul was barely hanging on and there was nothing to heal her. she sat at the end of the table while sans leaned against the counter, thinking. she kept talking to gaster about what had happened, leaving her responses open enough that he was able to fill in the blanks.

he had seen frisk's soul refuse to die many times during their time in the underground, and if their soul couldn't refuse they just loaded a save. but what she did was unheard of. he hadn't seen anyone, monster _or_ human, purposefully allow themselves to be harmed by their own magic. especially let themselves be harmed enough that they nearly _killed themselves._ the fact that she was able to even get up afterwards was astounding.

sure, feeling tightness around one's soul when first learning magic was normal. even hacking off a couple of HP points because the magic doesn't cooperate properly with the user was normal. but to just stand there and let it harm her over and over again…

that seemed like something frisk would do. not something _g_ would do.

"You listening, Sans?" g asked, her hand tapping his forehead. he looked at her and offered a apologetic shrug and smile. she rolled her eyes and sighed, but a small smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. "Of course you weren't, bonehead." _bonehead?_ that was… oddly affectionate, even for her.

"sorry, i'm thinkin' over here. i'll try to _femur_ involved from here on out." g groaned before glaring behind him, pointing over his head.

"I blame you for this… What do you mean, he doesn't get it from you? You're the only parent _I_ know of!" ah, his incorporeal father. he still needed to talk to him (through her). g looked over at him with furrowed brows, "Unless there's another? Another skeleton parent?"

"no, just gaster. where'd you think the holes in his hands came from?" he shrugged. "alright, we need to focus back on your soul. we're not pressing forward with these magic lessons until you're _at least_ healed." she looked away indignantly.

"I'm fine, you know." another glare shot over his shoulder. "You can keep your mouth shut, Voidman. Not in the mood for your fatherly bullshit today." seemed like when her hp was low, she was more _expressive._ "I really am alright. I'm a bit woozy but we can keep going."

"you really, _really_ can't," he responded, rubbing his head. they could always go to tori's and explain the situation, but then asgore might get upset because he was teaching _a human_ magic. but this human was _g._ g would never hurt anyone. it went against her very being.

"I have to, Sans. I gotta learn, to keep everyone safe." she placed a hand against her chest, "I'll be fine. I can take a little bit more."

"do you not have a self-preservation instinct?" he snapped, feeling his eye sockets go black. "you're at _four hp_ , g! if you 'take a little bit more,' you'll _die._ " she didn't look away from him. "i'm not letting you _kill yourself_ to learn some fucking magic. how could you even want to do that!?" he chose his next words carefully, knowing the effect they'd probably have. "you'd leave gloria all alone if you tried again."

as he expected, she looked disturbed by the thought. she sat up and looked away, then looked back at him. "I… I didn't think it'd kill me." sans watched as she shrunk in her seat. her hands were shaking. for the first time since he had met her, g looked… vulnerable. "I just want to keep everyone safe. I _want_ to learn this, too. To help me control this new part of my life. But I… I don't want to leave Gloria by herself."

"then we're not going to try this again until we heal you up. our best bet would be to go to tori to heal you up. her healing magic is the best out there, and she can make some b'scotch-cinnamon pie. that stuff'll heal you up as much as possible." she hadn't looked up, her gaze still locked on her hands. "g?"

"I… really am a shitty mom." her voice was thick with emotion. sans didn't know what to do. "I was _scared_ of her, when she used her magic on me. I was _scared of my daughter._ I only felt relieved when I realized that she didn't mean to do it. And… then I almost go kill myself, forgetting that I'd leave her alone if I died?" she shook her head and stood up. he couldn't see her face. "Sorry. Didn't mean to unload on you or anything. Let's go talk to Toriel, yeah?"

he walked towards her, offering her his hand. this is how they teleported together last time. "yeah. let's… let's talk to toriel. you should be good to teleport."

"Hopefully." she nodded at a spot in the kitchen. "Watch the house for me, Gaster. If anything happens… well, I guess we're fucked." she cursed a lot more with low hp, too. she wrapped her hand around sans'. he absentmindedly rubbed his thumb over her skin. "Be back… whenevs."

sans opened a shortcut, stepping through the rip in space/time before helping her through. she didn't look sick this time, which was good. maybe she didn't have enough energy to feel sick. the thought disturbed him more than he'd like to admit. she shook far more than he had anticipated.

"you're good at hiding your pain," he muttered under his breath, helping her towards tori's front door. she raised an eyebrow at him, the corner of her mouth pulling up into a smirk. (he found that he liked that look.)

"I'm a _mom._ I have to be." g's knees shook as she reached to knock on the door. "It comes with being a growing up and being a parent - not that I'd expect you to know either." sans shot a look up at her, brow bones furrowing. did she think he was, like, twelve or something?

"i'm twenty-nine, thank you very much. i'm probably _grow_ much older than you are."

g snorted and then gasped just as the door opened up. "Ooh, no, snorting hurts… Sans, I'm thirty-four. You're not older than me, buddy. The bags under my eyes prove it."

she was thirty-four. she was _thirty-four!?_ he thought that she was a year or two younger than he was she gave off that kind of vibe! but she was _five years older than him?_ shit. it explained a lot about her. shit, shit. did he have a crush on a _cougar!?_

did he also just have that thought?

tori stood in the doorway, her eyes widening as she took in the sight. g offered her a pained smiled, "So I need you to heal my soul." straight to the point. no pomp and circumstance for g, it seemed.

tori helped her in, looking at sans for some kind of explanation. he didn't look at her, instead opting to shrug. "she wanted to learn how to use her magic. it… didn't go well."

"So you _injured_ her this terribly?" tori had her mom voice on - it was the one she used when she scolded frisk. he turned his eye lights back to tori, glaring at her. how could she think that!? he would never, _ever_ hurt her like that. she glared back until g tapped her cheek.

"He didn't do it, Tori. I guess that I just had an adverse reaction to my magic, but I was really focused on learning it that I just… worked through the pain. He was the one that stopped me from killing myself." she gave the skeleton a smile. "I guess I owe you a…" she sighed and rubbed her face before saying, "a _skele-ton_ , Sans… I can't believe I just said that. That hurt more."

he couldn't help the fact that his smile widened to an almost painful point. she had never, ever, _ever_ punned with him. ( _maybe low hp's good_ , he thought jokingly.) "nah, you don't owe me anything. _tibia_ honest, i was just helpin' you out, g. you were _bone_ with some pretty powerful magic. _ulna-t_ risk you hurtin' yourself with it, so i'll be more careful next time."

"This was a mistake, I'm never making a pun ever again." tori looked between the two before sighing.

"Well, let me see the damage done," she said, pulling g over to the couch in the living room. sans stayed standing up, leaning against the front wall so he could keep watch. "I'll have to bring your soul out to inspect it, since this is _magical_ damage rather than _physical_ damage. Is that alright?"

he watched as she nodded, pushing the hair that had fallen loose behind her ear. "Yeah, I feel ya. It's… pretty bad, though."

"you should know that she has two max hp values, 'cause of the part of her soul that's gone. her max right now is 3,986 hp, but her max total is 5,653." toriel looked at her with wide eyes, in awe of such high hp. "she's got a strong soul."

"I knew that about her already. But… even with part of your soul gone, G, you can take a lot." the goat woman set her paw on her friend's shoulder.

g shrugged, "S'what I'm good at. I can take a lot before anything starts to hurt." there was a deeper meaning to that, he could tell.

_'I… really am a shitty mom.'_

something had started to hurt there.

"Well, I'm going to look at your soul then. Are you alright with Sans being here?" the women looked at him and he started to walk out.

"He's cool. He saw it already, when he pulled me into a confrontation." he cringed when toriel made a shrieking sound in her throat. "He didn't fight me, he was explaining the system so I'd have a better understanding about it. You worry a lot, Toriel."

she shook her head, "I suppose I do… Alright, I'm going to start pulling your soul out." g nodded and leaned back into the couch. sans' eyes widened at how her soul no longer shined brightly. it was nearly _white_. "Stars above," she murmured under her breath. "You've done quite a number on yourself, G."

"Sorry," she responded, her voice dull. sans watched as her eyes lost focus on the woman before her. "'m not good at realizing when it's too much. I get tunnel-vision and think of what I need to do."

tori placed her paws on the cracked, shock white soul. a soft, green glow emitted from around them. it made the room smell like a spring day after a rainshower. sans watched as color slowly came back into the soul. he could feel her hp increasing.

**5/3,986 ~~/5,653~~**

**97/3,986 ~~/5,653~~**

**215/3,986 ~~/5,653~~**

**566/3,986 ~~/5,653~~**

**988/3,986 ~~/5,653~~**

**1,436/3,986 ~~/5,653~~**

tori stopped, pulling her hands off. "I'm afraid that's all I can do for right now without overusing my magic. I'll whip up something with monster food, and it should fix up the rest. You liked my butterscotch-cinnamon pie, correct?" she pushed the soul (which was now a _much healthier_ dark pastel blue. it was nearing true integrity blue, but wasn't quite there yet) back into g's chest. her eyes came back into focus and she offered another smile.

"I loved it last time you made it. Thank you, Tori." the goat woman smiled at her before standing up and dusting her sundress off.

"Then I'll go make it. You should stay and rest here while you wait. Once it's ready, you can have a slice and we can discuss why you were learning magic." sans caught the tone to tori's voice. it was a maternal, scolding kind of tone.

g shrugged, "I guess we can." she smiled at her friend, "I'll be right here waiting for you, though." tori smiled softly before nodding at the both of them, leaving for the kitchen. g looked to sans before patting the open spot beside her. "You're sweating up a storm."

he walked over and collapsed beside her. "'m worried," he murmured, slinging his arm onto the back of the couch, behind her shoulder. she hummed and leaned her head back, her hair flopping over his hand. he absentmindedly twirled a piece in his fingers.

"I don't think Toriel's _truly_ upset that you were teaching me magic, if that's what you're worried about. And if she is, once I explain the reason she won't be."

"are you stupid or something?" g rolled her head over to look at him. her eyes were tired, but awake. alert. a wonderful oxymoron. she just blinked at him. "i'm worried about you. you nearly _died_ today, g. i don't think you understand that: you almost died. you almost _fell down_ , right in front of me. and then, with everything you've said, _you've done_... it leads me to think that you don't have a single self-preservation instinct in your body. the fact that you thought i was worried about tori being _pissed_ rather than _your own health_ says a lot."

she shrugged again, looking up at the ceiling. "It's not a lack of self-preservation. I just become focused on what I need to do. I have an obligation to protect those I care about - an obligation I put on _myself_ , mind you. Thought I'd mention that before you'd say otherwise. And when I obligated to do something, I put my all into meeting that obligation. It feels wrong otherwise." he sighed before opening his mouth. "And in regards to what I thought you were worried about… you were right. I did think about you being worried about Tori first. But that's how it works."

"how _what_ works?" he asked, looking over her solemn expression.

"How I work, I guess. I'm not good with… other people caring about me. I know Gloria cares about me, but I'm her mom. Her caring about me _makes sense_. But not other people." She snickered ruefully. "Darren, Gloria's dad, was the first person that ever genuinely cared about me. I didn't know what to do then, either."

"what about your parents?"

g blinked before gazing back at him. "Huh. I thought you knew. I'm an orphan - dropped off by parents I didn't know. Nor do I _care_ to know them, honestly." sans felt his soul tighten up. she didn't seem bothered by the fact. "I guess I'll have to work on how I perceive others caring about me. Starting with you, bonehead."

he decided to look up at the ceiling. surely there must've been something there to keep her attention. "why me?"

"'cause you're the first one to bring it up. Also because we'll be spending a lot of time together while you teach me how to use my magic." g yawned. "I'm gonna use your shoulder as a pillow."

he couldn't help himself, "what, are you takin' a page out of my lazy book? you gonna take a nap?" he chuckled at the look she gave him. "can't promise it'll be comfortable."

"S'whatever." she leaned against him, resting her cheek against his shoulder. an amiable silence fell over the two. "Thanks, Sans. For… for everything."

he glanced down at her, taking her in. she no longer looked vulnerable, even as she started to drift off. she was strong.

"yeah. you're welcome."


	16. The Messenger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trip to the grocery store leads to an ominous message.
> 
> Also, spider donuts?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jsyk, i start my new job tomorrow and my birthday is saturday so updates FOR THIS may be slow this week. the one-shots for 20/20t are really nice and easy to write so a couple more should come out this week. to fill in the void ( _haha, GET IT?_ ) you could read 20/20 timelines or check out the updated character ref. or draw! or write! or just do you!
> 
> thanks for reading, egg out!

The Wednesday following your failed training with Sans, you had to go grocery shopping. Toriel (while not happy that you felt the need to learn magic) understood your reasoning behind the lessons, and she suggested that you pick up some magic-infused foods. As a healer there was only so much she could do, and monster food would cover what she couldn't and keep your HP up if it fell too low too quickly.

So you made a trip out of it. You picked Gloria and Frisk up from school, then you picked up Sans and Papyrus. Sans was there because he knew the most about monster foods, and Papyrus came because both his brother and the kids were going to be there. It was whatever. You could cram everyone in your vehicle without a second thought.

As you drove, you hummed along with the radio and listened as the kids (Papyrus was included in that sentiment) chattered happily. Sans merely kicked his feet up on your dashboard and fell asleep. The grocery store you preferred to go to was closer to your house, so you had to drive a pretty substantial distance to get there. That was fine with you, though. This kind of warm atmosphere was nice.

When you parked, Papyrus was the first one out. "WE HAVE ARRIVED, EVERYONE! I SHALL RUN AHEAD AND GET A CART!" You snorted as Sans barely looked up, unbuckling yourself and pulling your bag off of his lap. Then you went about unloading Gloria and Frisk. They continued to chat as you finally got around to Sans' side.

You pulled open the door. He didn't even open his eye sockets to acknowledge you when you reached across him to unbuckle the seatbelt. "Sans, wake up," you hissed as you wrapped your arms around his middle, pulling him out of his seat. "If you don't get up _right now_ , I'm shoving you into the basket! _And_ piling food on top of you!"

"yer gon' put food on me? sounds like heaven," he mumbled sleepily, tilting his head back to open his eyes open slightly and give you a soft smile. Your heart fluttered a bit at that. It had been doing that a lot lately, when it came to Sans.

You ignored it and sneered. "If you're awake, please stand up so I'm not holding you." He leaned all his weight into you. Frisk and Gloria laughed and came to help you keep him up. "Sans, I swear if you don't stand up--"

Papyrus had returned from getting the cart and he reached over you, picking his brother up underneath his arms and plopping him into the cart's baby seat. You stared at him as he worked Sans' feet through the openings, rearranging his clothes so the fit in the seat. The older seemed completely content with that, his head leaning forward and his eyes sliding close again. The younger turned and smiled at you, "I HAVE LEARNED THAT THIS KEEPS HIM FROM LAGGING BEHIND WHEN WE GO SHOPPING! YOU HUMANS ARE SO SMART, PUTTING IN LITTLE SEATS FOR THOSE THAT DON'T WANT TO WALK!"

Frisk snorted loudly before signing, " _Thanks, Paps. Glad we were smart enough to think ahead for Sans._ " Gloria smacked their arm with a playful laugh. " _I'm surprised he fits in that._ "

"WE ARE SKELETONS, FRISK. DESPITE THE FACT THAT OUR BONES ARE _FAR_ LARGER THAN A HUMAN'S, WE ARE _JUST_ BONES. IT'S HIS CLOTHES THAT TAKE UP THE MOST ROOM." You were still in a dull state of shock at seeing Sans, a grown ass adult (you vaguely recalled him saying, _"i'm twenty-nine, thank you very much."_ ), sleeping soundly in a cart's baby seat. Finally, you shook your head and reached for it. Better start pushin'. Papyrus laid a hand overtop of yours, "I WILL PUSH, MAMA G. HE CAN BE KIND OF A HANDFUL."

_He was being treated like a fucking baby._

"Alright. That works for me." You fumbled around in your bag, pulling out your list and grabbing your keys long enough to lock your car. You smiled up at Papyrus, "Alrighty, let's get this done. C'mon, kids, in we go." Frisk and Gloria jumped onto the sides of the cart, excitedly acting like it was their ship. You led everyone down the aisles, grabbing the items off of your list and marking them off.

Halfway down the baking aisle, you felt someone's stare on your back. It was heavy and it made you uncomfortable. You stopped, sending the entourage forward to get some devil's food cake mix (it was Gloria's favorite flavor). Once they were a significant distance away from you, you turned around to search over the store.

A young girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen, stared at you. She had sharp eyes that looked almost red, pointed eyeliner and thick mascara making their color even more intense. She had a beauty mark beneath her left eye, her right practically covered by her long, dirty blonde bangs. The rest of her hair was clipped close to her head, though she had a long black hair pin holding some fly away hairs away from her left eye.

With her black leather jacket, dark jeans, and high black combat boots, she looked very striking. You two never broke your gazes as you took in one another. Why was she looking at you so intensely? Her left eye twitched and her bottom lip spasmed before she looked away. You watched as she muttered something to herself before she walked up towards you.

"Mama?" You were jolted out of your thoughts by Gloria, who came and held your hand. "We got the mix. Where are we going next?" You quickly glanced between your daughter and the girl (who had stopped quite a bit aways from you) before responding.

"Can I trust you and Frisk and Papyrus to get everything else on the list? I'll catch up in a few moments…" You lowered your hand, offering the list to her with a look. Her brows pulled together in confusion but she accepted it nonetheless before walking off. Once she was out of earshot, you turned back to the girl. She continued to walk, shoving her hands into her jacket and never looking away from you. "Good afternoon," you said curtly. Your birthmark crackled with some magic energy, the rest of it pulsing through your limbs. You were hoping this wasn't one of those 'energy expulsion' episodes Sans had told you about. "Can I help you?"

"Pro'lly."

Her voice was thick with an accent you hadn't heard in nearly eight years. She sounded like she was from your hometown. _Darren's_ hometown. It caused a shiver to roll down your spine.

She was a bit shorter than you and only tilted her head back to look at you slightly. Her eyes were definitely red, but it looked natural. No way was she wearing contacts. "Listen, lady, I got a warnin' for ya. Keep an eye on yer kids for a while, alrigh'?" She rubbed at her neck while she stared up at you. She never broke eye contact. "Keep yer friends around, and keep learnin' whatever it is yer learnin' with the… the…" She snapped her fingers three times before finding her answer. "The skeleton. You've got about a week before everything reaches its head."

You narrowed your gaze at her. Everything she said hit close to home, a little _too_ perfectly. "Are you watching my family?" you hissed out. Who was this girl?

"No. _No_. I'm jus' deliverin' the message, lady." She shrugged and turned to walk away. You reached out and grabbed her shoulder. You forced her to look back to you.

"You can't just come here and dump all that on me, kid. Who are you and _why do you know so much?_ " Your brain was working overtime, the magic in your fingertips sparking visibly. Her red eyes shot to the bright blue sparks before she looked back to you. "You're freaking me out kid and I need answers about why you know what you know."

She shrugged again, knocking your hand off and stepping back. "Take care of yourself, lady, 'cause someone really cares about ya." The way she spoke made your head start to hurt. Your vision blurred as she walked away, though you swore you could see something walking behind her. You couldn't make out a figure, only a bright yellow stripe over something green. As she rounded the corner and exited your line of sight, your head stopped hurting and your vision went back to normal.

You needed to find your family, _immediately._

Anxiety started to nip at your thoughts and you had to keep your hands in your pockets because they were sparking. You walked down the open center area, checking through each aisle for your tall skeleton and company. You hadn't seen the girl again. You were grateful for that.

The group stood in the middle of the pasta aisle, Frisk and Papyrus debating over the difference between spaghetti and angel hair. Gloria was laughing giddily and Sans had opened one eye socket to watch the pair. You stopped behind them, took a deep breath to center yourself, and then walked towards them. You put a smile on your face. They were fine. You were fine. _This_ was fine.

Sans was the first to see you, sitting up in his seat and opening up his other eye socket. Gloria was next, and then Papyrus and Frisk turned to you. "thanks for joinin' us again, g. glory said you had to stop to talk to someone. you take her for a _girl_ around the store?"

You shrugged, "Nah, she just needed to talk to me about a couple things. An out-of-towner." You could tell him. You could tell them what she said to you. But you didn't want to have anyone else to worry. You weren't even really _lying._ He gave you a look. He knew that wasn't everything.

You hoped he wouldn't delve any further.

He didn't.

Gloria spoke next, "Oh, she's not from around here? Did she say where she was from?" Without thinking, you rattled off your hometown's name. "Is that far from here?"

"No," you said. When everything was all said and done, you smiled at the group. "Alright, we're in the pasta section on my list. Next should be the--"

Frisk signed excitedly, " _The cookie section! Please, **please** can I show you these monster cookies, Auntie G? Muffet has a deal with these stores and she ships out her spider cookies and they're **so** good! Please please please please please?_ "

Gloria joined in, "Yeah, Mama, pleaaaaaaase?"

"PLEEEEEEASE?"

You looked to Sans, already knowing you were going to give in. He winked at you, "i _arach-need_ you to get these cookies, g."

_Arach-need?_

"Are there spiders involved?" Everyone continued to grin at you. You narrowed your eyes, giving the four of them a suspicious stare. "I feel like there are spiders involved. But, lead the way, I guess."

Papyrus practically ran with the cart, Sans wheezing at the sudden take off. Gloria chased after it. Frisk walked beside you. They grabbed your hand to get your attention before signing. " _She said something weird, didn't she?_ " they asked. This child was way too good when it came to reading people.

You sighed and gave in quietly, "It was weird. She said, 'take care of yourself, lady, 'cause someone really cares about ya.'" Frisk froze up for a moment before continuing with you. "You're way too good at this whole people-thing, Frisk," you commented. Maybe this would throw them off.

" _In the underground, I had to be. If I didn't talk monsters down or spare them, I had to fight them. And… I didn't want to do that._ " They rubbed at their shoulder. " _A… a friend of mine down there told me that it was 'kill or be killed' and I'm not a big fan of either._ "

"Well, you got them out." Their hands had started to shake. This wasn't what you had wanted to cause. "And I'm glad you did, otherwise we would've never met you." Frisk looked up at you, their eyes going wide and a smile pulling at the corners of their mouth. "You're a good kid, Frisk. I'm really lucky that you and your mom are in my life. I'm _really_ lucky that you're my daughter's best friend and that you take such good care of her."

They bounced excitedly, " _Well, Gloria says that we're gonna get married one day so I have to practice being really good to her now so I can be the perfect spouse!_ " You blinked at that; that was the first time you were hearing of this. But their dedication to her childhood fantasy was endearing.

"Alrighty, then. I'm trusting her to you." You ruffled their hair affectionately. "Really though. Thank you for being you Frisk."

" _I'm not a fan of the whole 'not me' thing, so I'm glad to be me._ " They giggled when you two finally caught up to the rest of the group, then they ran off and grabbed a package. When they brought it back to show you and Gloria, they pointed to the logo. " _My friend Muffet makes these! They're 'by spiders, for spiders, of spiders!'_ "

"So I was right," you murmured offhandedly, shooting a glance to Sans. He shrugged and went back to scrolling on his phone. In the baby seat. It was kind of baffling. "...of spiders?"

"I DO NOT KNOW IF THESE ARE TRULY MADE 'OF SPIDERS' BUT THEY ARE DELICIOUS EITHER WAY, MAMA G! THEY ARE MADE WITH VERY STRONG HEALING MAGIC!" Papyrus looked to you, "YOU WOULD LIKE THEM VERY MUCH! THEY GO VERY WELL WITH A CREAMY CUP OF HOT COCOA OR A SWEET LATTE!"

You took the package from Gloria before dropping it in Sans' lap. "I don't do sweet coffee anymore, but I think it'll taste good with my black coffee."

"so sweet coffee is a has _bean_ for you?"

You shoved Sans' hoodie over his face before continuing forward. You snorted when he yelped out a surprised 'fuck!' Papyrus thanked you and berated Sans for his language while Gloria and Frisk laughed.

The girl was right, though. Despite her being creepy she had gotten almost everything right. You had your 'someone's all around you. You just had to get used to them _caring._

 

 

 

 

 

 

**SEVEN DAYS LEFT**


	17. Grillby's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your dinner date with Sans doesn't go as expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> someone's voice: what this?? another update?? but we thought you had work egg??
> 
> me: HAHA WHAT IS SLEEP I AM FILLED WITH MOTIVATION FOR THIS LARGER CHAPTER.
> 
> it is large, though. 4,249 words.
> 
> i want to die.

Thursday evening, Toriel approached you about Gloria spending the weekend with Frisk at her house. Something about the pair wanting to prepare their costumes for Halloween. You had accepted happily. A weekend to yourself? You could ask Sans to come back over to help you practice your magic.

You had texted him about it and he agreed, under the stipulation that you two went out to eat at a friend's place Friday evening. He insisted that you needed a night out - he had noticed how tense you had been since your trip to the grocery store. You said yes. When you probed him further about this 'friend's place,' he had sent you back a lone fire emoji. So… was his friend hot?

You went about your business that Friday, visiting with clients in the morning and into the early afternoon before dropping Gloria's bag off at Toriel's. You had lunch with her before returning to your place. Then you texted Sans and asked what to wear. He sent you back the shrug emoticon (this one: ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯).

So you put a pair of black jeggings, brown boots, and a long brown sweater. You didn't bother with fixing your hair or putting anything else on. If Sans didn't care then you didn't care. You sat at your desk and absentmindedly played on your phone, activating your Sight to search for Gaster.

Your Voidman sat across from you, staring at you curiously. His head was tilted ever so slightly. " **Do you have a date or something? You… are wearing nicer clothes than usual.** " You were a tank top and pants kind of lady, so you didn't get pissed off at his inquiry.

"Nah, no date. Sans wants to go to a friend's restaurant and I figured I'd at least try to make a good first impression." You opened up your text conversation with him and scrolled through it, finding the fire emoji. "Though, you might be able to answer this." You showed Gaster your phone. "Know anyone that could be described with a fire emoji?"

" **I do, yes. But if I told you who I'd probably ruin Sans' surprise.** " You frowned at that, looking back to your phone. You texted the skeleton man about when he was picking you up. Before you could even look up, you felt him teleport into your workspace. " **Ah, he's arrived.** "

You raised a brow, taking in his _slightly_ more put together look. He had a clean shirt on and he wore jeans and sneakers, though his jacket hadn't come off. Maybe this _was_ a date? When had you last gone out on a date? You couldn't even remember. Was dressing up still normal for dates?

"I'm going to start charging for every time you show up in my house uninvited," you teased, standing up and slinging your bag over your shoulder. His grin widened as you walked towards him. "Seriously, if you did that to _literally anyone else_ , do you think they'd be alright with it?"

"probably not," he responded with a shit-eating grin. "'m real lucky you're not _literally anyone else_ then." You snickered as he offered you his hand. His boney fingers wrapped around yours, feeling cool and smooth on your warm, calloused hand. "well, ya ready? you're in for a _blast_ tonight. who knows? you might even meet an _old flame._ "

Gaster snorted and you looked at him, "His friend's fire, right?" Sans looked nonplussed that you asked his invisible father. The Voidman wheezed out a laugh at his son's incredulous look before nodding. You looked to your sweater. "Am I going to get too hot around him them? Should I change?"

"...nah. you'll be toasty but that's about it." He was pouting because you figured it out. _He really was a fucking baby._ You squeezed his hand and watched as his head whipped up to look at you. His cheeks had that adorable, embarrassed blue flush to them. "you ready to go?" You nodded and waved by to Gaster before letting your Sight fade out.

"I'm ready when you are." Sans grinned, flicking his wrist dramatically to open up his rip in space/time. While it looked like a busy sidewalk was just on the other side of the opening, if you tilted your head just the right way you could a fizzling blackness in between the two openings. It hurt your head to look at it for too long.

He stepped through, keeping your hand in his before turning around to help you. A couple monsters that stood near you two called out for your skeleton friend excitedly, only stopping when they saw you holding his hand. One of the monsters - who looked like an anthropomorphic horse with beautiful blond locks - whistled loudly from around his cigarette. "Wouldja look at that!? Sans finally got a girlfriend!"

His embarrassed flush was practically _glowing._ Cyan colored sweat started to bead on the crown of his skull. "she's not my girlfriend, pal. we're just here on a date." You raised a brow curiously at that, feeling your heart flutter. So this was a date? Interesting. Platonic? Romantic? You'd ask him later.

The horse man grinned wickedly, "Uh-huh, _sure._ With the way you're lightin' up, I doubt that." He glanced over to his buddy, a monster that reminded you of a piranha plant from Mario, and nudged their shoulder. "What do _you_ think, Chomp?"

The piranha plant smiled lecherously. "Look at his lady, Strider. She's all red! There's no doubt about it!" You raised your free hand to touch your face - oh fuck, your cheeks were _hot._ Sans turned to look at you, his smile widening when he saw you flustering over your blush. How had you not felt it come on!? The monster pair teased you two for another few moments before apologizing good naturedly and letting you in.

Sans looked back to you as you entered the establishment, his eye lights roving over your face. You were smiling at him, closing your eyes and sighing blissfully once you were in the warm restaurant. "welcome to grillby's, g." Another chorus of Sans' name filled the air, different voices all coming together to cheer harmoniously. He raised his free hand and acknowledged everyone casually, falling right into a social element you didn't know he possessed.

You looked around the building - it was rather large, but the placement of tables, booths, and _people_ made it seem quite homely. The lighting was low, most of it coming from the four fire elementals rushing throughout the building. You recognized one instantly. "Balle!" you called quietly.

The purple girl turned to you, smiling softly and waving. Another fire elemental that was bright red and her size nudged her and whispered something. You watched her whisper back. The other looked up at you and waved excitedly, then called to Sans. The skeleton grinned and led you over to the pair.

"g, you know balle," he said with a grin.

You smiled down at her, extending your hand just a bit. "Indeed I do. How've you been, Balle? I hope Glory hasn't cause you too much trouble." Her tiny hand was warm and it flickered in your grasp. You weren't burned at all.

She opened her mouth, her quiet voice crackling like a burning log. "I've been good, and Gloria is not causing me trouble. She's my best friend." Her cheeks burned bright pink. "I'm helping everyone out tonight." She perked up when the other elemental bounced excitedly. "This is my twin brother, Heats."

 _Twin?_ Was it possible for monsters to _be_ twins? You hadn't _heard_ of monsters having twins, but you hadn't really been apart of the monster community for a long enough time to know. You'd have to ask Sans.

You let go of her hand to extend it to Heats, taking him in in his entirety. Whereas Balle was a soft purple in color, he was a bright red with flames that flickered on his head excitedly. Balle didn't have any identifiable features, either, save for the embarrassed flush she'd sometimes get. He had wide eyes that took you in happily.

He grabbed your hand excitedly and shook it with both of his tiny, flickering hands. Whereas Balle's voice was like a burning log, Heats' voice was like a roaring fire. "I'm Heats Flamesman! Don't forget it - I'm gonna sear a mark onto the world one day!"

You grinned at his excitement, "I won't forget it, then. Nice to meet you, Heats." He grinned up at you.

"You're Gloria's mom, right!? She and Balle are in a different class than me, but she plays with me sometimes at recess! She's real nice!"

You raised a brow at that before confirming that, _yes_ , you were Gloria's mom. Heats opened his mouth to respond but stopped when someone called for him. He said 'hold on for a moment, please!' before grabbing Balle by her hand and running off towards the bar. Another fire elemental stood behind it, nodding to the two children as they disappeared into the kitchen. He was dressed in elegant bartender attire, the look finished off by the pair of wire-rimmed glasses on his face. Sans took your hand into his again and led you towards the man.

"hey, grillbs." So this was the owner of the establishment, and the apparent namesake. Sans climbed onto one of the stools and you sat beside him, looking over Grillby casually. He was in the middle of mixing (what looked like) an alcoholic drink and you wondered why the alcohol didn't immediately catch fire. (You had been able to shake Balle and Heats' hands just fine, though. Maybe they could control their temperature?)

The fire man (you could never, _ever_ let Sans know that you called Grillby that. You'd never hear the end of it) crackled some kind of response that you couldn't understand, tilting his head towards you. You looked between him and your skeleton friend for some kind of explanation.

Sans grinned, "he's asking who you are."

You nodded as you looked back to Grillby, "I'm G… _Just_ G." The flames on his head flickered and he sounded like a fireplace. Was that another kind of response? You looked back to Sans for translation.

"'the same g that spends her time with queen toriel and frisk?'"

"Yeah, that one. My daughter's the one that spends all that time around Frisk, though. Those two are best friends." You smiled at the thought of the pair playing. "She actually sits right beside Balle. She picked out that seat on the first day."

More crackles and flickers. "'gloria?'"

"That'd be her." Before he could 'ask' another question, someone in the back called his name. Grillby nodded his head to you before turning and walking to the swinging door you assumed was the kitchen. You looked to Sans, "So, he can't talk?"

"it's an old language - back from before the war, i think - but enough people underground know it, so he never bothered to learn anything else. skeletons are natural linguists so i know what he's saying." You narrowed your eyes and raised a brow, doubting his 'natural linguist' skills. "no, that's really _not_ a joke. skeletons can pick up different languages _real_ easy. i once learned japanese because i thought it'd be fun to mess around with alphys during her anime-binges."

"You're a terrible friend," you teased lightly, turning back to look behind the bar.

"i'm aware," he replied smugly.

After another moment, you asked, "You know who called him back?"

"ashe." The look you gave him must have gotten across your confusion. "his wife. she stays behind the scenes most of the time, taking care of the food and finances for the place. i think i only saw her once or twice underground. she wasn't really needed in the front part of grillbz's 'cause it was never really busy. but since they've opened up here on the surface…" He gestured to the busy place. "it's all hands on deck for helpin' out. balle, heats, fuku - that's fuku over there," he pointed to the bright green flame elemental, who moved from one table to another gracefully, "she's a sweetheart and a _huge nerd_ \- and grillby all take care of the front. ashe still takes care of the food."

You side eyed him. "Shouldn't someone help her out or something?"

He snorted, "nah. ashe is one of the oldest boss monsters around. she dates back farther than grillby - with that age comes wisdom and power. she's also a control freak sooo…"

"So… how old are they both? Roughly? You said Grillby is pre-war, and Ashe is older than him, so that makes them _at least_ a bit over one thousand years old." Sans thought about it for a moment, counting on his fingers before shrugging.

"last time i asked, grillby had hit three thousand something a while ago. ashe is about five hundred years older, so… yeah." You blinked at that. Were… were they really _that_ old? Was that _normal?_ "elemental monsters usually live for a decamillenium." Another look. "ten thousand years. those two haven't even hit their mid-life crisis points yet."

"Do all monsters live that long?" Fuku noticed Sans at the bar and started to approach you two, pulling out a notepad.

"nah, not really. well… all kinds of monsters have different life spans. s'normal." You opened your mouth to ask what _his_ lifespan was, but stopped when the lime green girl stood before you two, resting her hand on the bar.

"Sans! And his lady friend!" She had a bright smile on her face. Like Heats, she had eyes and a mouth. Were facial features on some elementals and not others a thing? Another question… This trip was going from relaxing to confusing real fast. "Did Dad have to go help Mom or something? I didn't think we were busy enough to warrant that…" She shook her head. "Anyways, what would you like to drink?" She pointedly looked to you, digging behind the counter and placing a - _a bottle of ketchup?_ \- in front of Sans.

"Uh… A strawberry daiquiri?" She nodded and set her notepad down, grabbing a few different items before getting to work. She didn't _seem_ old enough to make a drink, but with the information Sans just told you… Ah, shit, just ask her. "Fuku, right?" She nodded cheerfully. "Please don't take offense to this, but… aren't you too young to--"

"Be making drinks? Haha, I get that a lot. In this region, though, the minimal age to be a bartender is eighteen and I just turned eighteen, so I'm good." Oh hell, she's so young. _Especially_ compared to her parents. You looked over to Sans, who was drinking from the ketchup bottle. "Anything to eat?" she asked as she set your drink before you. The top was absolutely destroyed with whipped cream.

It was beautiful.

"Any suggestions, ketchup man?" you asked, glancing at your dinner date from the corner of your eye. He swallowed his ketchup - _ew ew ew how could he do that to himself_ \- before raising two fingers.

"two burgers and fries, fuku. can you bring me a bowl when they're ready? don't want a code papyrus." She giggled while nodding and walked away, tearing the sheet of paper off. You watched as she stepped into the kitchen for a brief moment, stepping back out with her younger siblings. Grillby followed, glancing back in once before his cheeks turned white.

"'Code Papyrus?'" you asked after a moment, sipping on your drink. _You fucking loved whipped cream._ Sans squirted more ketchup into his mouth, grinning widely when your nose scrunched up in distaste.

"ashe cooks with a shit ton of grease. i have to drain it or it gets all over me. and..." He hooked his thumb in the direction of the group of dogs playing poker. (You were witnessing a real life painting.) "they might be _monster_ dogs, but they're still _dogs._ they _love_ bones and grease. i've just been around them enough that they know not to go after my bones."

"That still doesn't explain 'code Papyrus.' What did he do?" You turned in your seat slightly to have an easier time looking at him.

"The tall one didn' listen ta shorty here and bit righ' into the burger. 'Caused all the grease ta go everywhere. Dogs wen' crazy." A shiver shot up your spine. _Shit._ "...he got chased out. Dogs are _crazy._ "

You didn't want to turn around. You didn't want to look at her. Sans, on the other hand, leaned forward and greeted her casually. "evenin', m. decide to come in and guess some monster's pasts again?" His eye lights went back to you, taking in your distressed expression.

"Not here for guessin' tonight. Got enough money righ' now. 'm here ta talk ta her." Her fingers tapped along your shoulder. "She ain't a big fan o' me. Doesn' like that I know so much." You were hoping you would never run into her ever again. You never wanted to have a teenager spell out your worries _ever again._ "I don' wanna scare ya too much."

You turned around in your seat suddenly, brows furrowing as you stared her down. She didn't look _nearly_ as put together as she had Wednesday. Her face and hair were dirty and her clothes were scuffed up. It looked like she had _the same clothes_ on. Her gaze hadn't changed, though. It remained unwavering and sharp. The fiery anger you felt licking at your stomach fizzled a bit.

"Well, I think you're starting to reach _too much_ , kid. I'm doing what you said - I have more lessons with Sans tomorrow and Frisk and Gloria are safe with Toriel tonight! You said I had seven days, I know I'm at five now. I'm trying to prepare for whatever it is you said's going to happen as much as I can, okay!?" You kept your voice even. You were trying. You were _trying_.

"woah woah woah. m, _you were the one that g talked to the other day?_ " The girl looked past you, at Sans, before nodding. "m, fuck! you're the one that fucked with her? that - that isn't funny, kiddo, you can't just fucking do that!"

"I wasn' doin' that, though. I was givin' her a warnin'. I can only say so much - whatever I'm told." She twitched a few times before biting her cheek. "If I say too much tha' happens. The twitchin'. They don' like it." The girl - _M_ \- rubbed at her chest. "Look, I'm tryna keep everyone safe. I got obligations to meet. But--" Her eyes _changed color._ They went from red to _black._ Her eyes squeezed shut. She shook her head and opened them again. Red. "But ya need to prepare too. Stock up on that monster food. Pack a bag or somethin'--" She started twitching more, slapping the side of her head. "Alrigh'! Alrigh'! I'm shuttin' up 'n' leavin'!"

There was something wrong with her. You let your Sight fade the world around you, ignoring the dozens of other souls in the room to focus on hers. Her soul was a beautiful red - a bit lighter than a balanced soul, but beautiful nonetheless. What bothered you was the fact that another soul leeched onto it, tiny and white and upside down. You looked up to her face. Around her eyes were two tiny white hearts.

Her face twisted as the realization came to her. She shot back from you in surprise, taking steps backwards before turning and running out of the bar. You stood up to go after her, prepared to follow her soul as far as you needed. Sans grabbed your wrist. The world came back into focus as you looked at him. "you're not going to find her," he muttered darkly. "i tried when she… did that thing to me the first time."

"There's a soul attached to hers," you rushed out, still standing up slightly. "She's a _Seer_ , Sans. She's a kid and she's homeless or something! I have to - I have to--"

The door to the kitchen slammed open and a cyan flame rushed out. "Was that the girl!? Fuku! Was that her!?" The lime green girl turned to the new figure and nodded. The new flame - Ashe - turned to you. _She was beautiful and you wished you could appreciate that more at that moment._ She ran to you, her cyan pupils sticking out in the dark blue of her eyes. "She was speaking to you before she ran off, right? Did she mention anything? Her parents? Where she's living?"

You shook your head 'no.' "She was just passing on a message to me." Ashe's hair flickered wildly as she stared at the door. She finally sighed, her warm breath washing over you, and slumped forward. She was quite spry and excitable for a flame that was over 3,500 years old.

"Dammit!" She kicked at the bar and caused the glasses to shake. "I was hoping to get her, too! ARGH!" You watched in awe as she tugged at the flames on her head in frustration, then stopped and looked between you and Sans. "Oh, Sans! You have a friend with you tonight!"

"yeah, ashe. thought i'd show her my favorite place." He had that smug grin on. The smugness seeped into his voice. "we got the double order of burger and fries." She nodded and crossed her arms. You took her in as you tried to collect your thoughts. She wore a bandanna to keep her flame/hair back and an apron, but underneath it was a beautiful, shimmering blue dress. _Why was she wearing such a beautiful thing while cooking?_

"I'm honestly just impressed that you have _friends_ , Sans. _Especially_ a pretty human friend." You were pulled out of your thoughts by that, staring at Ashe with wide eyes. She winked, "Yes, I mean you, cutie pie." You felt like you were in high school again, flirting with your seniors. "Anyways… I'm gonna go finish your food and then I'm taking a break. I'm finding that kid tonight, no matter what!" She pointed across the bar, "Fuku, my sweet flame, you're coming with me!"

You turned and saw the teenager salute her mother with a call of, "Mom, yes mom!" You chuckled under your breath.

"why're you so interested in m, ashe?" Sans was leaning forward now.

"Well, Fuku was the first one to notice her after her first time scamming money from you." Your skeleton deflated at that. "After you went after her, she reported it to me. She's been keeping an eye out for her. Every time she comes in, she's always wearing that same outfit and she looks… disheveled. She doesn't sound like she's from around here and Fuku hasn't seen her at her high school. Her human friends say that _they_ haven't seen her at theirs, either. I think she's… homeless. She's a sweet girl, if not a bit weird. Always pays for her food and always tells whoever served her to 'pay her compliments to the chef.' She and Fuku really hit it off and she treats Balle and Heats like siblings and I just… I want to make sure she's alright." The flames on her head suddenly roared, "But she always gets away before I can talk to her! It's getting annoying!"

Grillby, who had been out on the floor, returned. He set a hand on Ashe's head (he was fucking _tall_ compared to her) and crackled something. Sans' cheeks flushed and he looked away.

The cyan woman's cheeks lit up (even more so than before) with a happy blush, and she smiled. "Aw, sweetheart, I'm not doing anything no one else wouldn't do. I just worry about the girl." There was more crackling and her cyan pupils turned back to you. "Oh!! You're the little _sweetie's_ mom? Oh wow. Wow! Grillby, honey, where are the PTA flyers? Of course she's joining DSIE's PTA. We need a human mother that isn't a huge _bi--_ " Grillby flicked her forehead and said something to her. "Oh. Oh yeah, their food." She smiled bashfully and walked back to the kitchen.

More popping and crackling.

"grillby says: 'she's not always like that. she gets… excited.'" His voice flipped from the one he used for Grillby to his regular voice. "and she does get excited. when i first met her i got _burnt._ she shot out of the back as soon as i showed up one day and slammed me out of the door in a hug. was like 'so this is the kid taking care of his little brother? he's precious! grillby let's adopt them.'" Sans looked away at that. "when my sweater started smoking she got off."

You looked at Grillby evenly, "Your wife is beautiful and kind, but I do not envy you." You hoped he knew you were teasing. You two held each other's gaze before you heard a different kind of crackling - it sounded like a snort. He covered his face and looked away.

"holy shit, you made him laugh."

"It was an accident?"

The rest of the evening at Grillby's went well, all things considered. But your thoughts kept creeping back to M, the scuffed-up girl with a soul leeching off of hers. Something was feeding her information about the people around her, and you thought it was the soul.

You hoped she found somewhere warm to sleep for the evening.

 

 

 

 

 

**FIVE DAYS LEFT**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ashe is hottest mom  
> ashe is hottest mom  
> ashe is hottest mom  
> don't believe me? check out the updated character sheet. _she is hottest mom,_ which is hilarious because i love walking jokes. grillby has to keep her under control because she's _super_ passionate about _everything_. and grillby's family is... way bigger than i had originally anticipated making it. heats wasn't even brought up in my original concept for grillby's family, but the more i developed the family the more i fell in love with the idea.
> 
> but then i had to rework hidden character designs because i wasn't planning on ashe, fuku, and heats being brought up yet, and then i was like "but them not being at grillby's goes against canon you haven't even set up yet so you need to do that."
> 
> oh also: nice theories and everything, guys, but this is not going where you think this is going. *laughter* everything will come together soon, though. idk when, but soon. (this arc was originally meant to be chapters 11-20 but then shit hit the fan and i will NOT be able to wrap this up in three chapters, lol.)
> 
> also also: [this is canon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUgpbXyNt_0)


	18. Judge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another try at a magic lesson.
> 
> Things go better than last time, though you learn something new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this as a birthday gift to myself _f i g h t **m e**_
> 
> (anyways, work went well this week! i like this job lol. i'll have more time this upcoming week to write, but don't expect 3+ chapters. maybe 1 or 2.)

Saturday morning, Sans knocked on your front door. You heard him calling your name through the floor. You hadn't even been _awake_ at that point; you had been dead to the world for the first time in a long while. A little bit of booze did _wonders_ for your sleep patterns. But it also caused you to sleep through your alarm.

You shot up, still in your pajamas, and rushed to the front door. You tripped down the stairs, landing loudly with a loud, "FUCK!" (Thank the stars Gloria was at Toriel's.)

Your front door clicked open as you struggled to right yourself, Sans peeking his head in with a worried look. It disappeared as soon as he saw you fighting with your curtain. "wow, g, wasn't expecting you to miss your _curtain call_ like this."

With both sleepiness and adrenaline pounding through your system, you weren't equipped to even _hear_ his puns yet. You shot him an angry glare, brows furrowing as you hissed, "We aren't friends anymore." The strain the hissing put on your throat caused the back of your head to hurt. You lifted a hand to rub at the tender spot. "Ugh, shit, hit my head. C'mere," you gestured for him to come help you up. He shut the door before walking over. Then he pulled you up by your biceps, his fingers cool against your skin.

"i'm never letting you drink again," he teased quietly, looking up at you with his stupid grin. Your stomach jumped at how cute it looked. (Oh, _that_ was a new thought.) Despite the thought, you glared at him again.

"This isn't because of the alcohol, jerk. I tripped." You raised a hand to poke him on the forehead. "Why'd you even knock, huh?" you asked playfully, smiling as you pulled away.

"you said you were gonna start chargin' me. did you forget that already?" He shoved his hands into his pockets. "yeesh. your old age is starting to set in g." You pushed him. He continued to grin, "what?"

"I wasn't expecting you to take me seriously, numbskull." Your smile fell slightly as you realized what you said. Everyone had called him that jokingly. Toriel used it like a pun. Shit. His eye lights went black for a moment as he contemplated what you said. You could only watch as his eye lights returned and expanded - holy _shit_ , they were _stars_ now. His smile only grew and his cheek bones flushed blue. He looked up at you - it might've been the happiest you had ever seen him. Fuck. He was cute.

"you made a joke." It was your turn to flush. He started to bounce, "you made a joke! on they fly! i'm so proud!"

You pushed open the curtains and started back up the stairs. "You act like I have no sense of humor," you spat sarcastically. He followed you up. (You would never know that he looked at your butt the entire way up.)

"you _don't_ have a sense of humor. puns are hilarious. _i'm_ hilarious." You turned to him once you two were up the stairs, crossing your arms and staring him down.

"That explains it. I have a _good_ sense of humor." He grinned up at you, raising a hand to rub at his skull. He did that when he was going to make a bone pun. "If you say something with _humerus_ in it I will kick you out."

Sans' brow bones furrowed. " _tibia_ honest, i was gonna use that. how the hell did you even figure that out?"

You shrugged, "You scratch your head when you're gonna make a bone pun. I only recently noticed it. It helps me know that I need to prepare my unending rage for puns." You started to walk towards your room.

"i'll _femur_ aware about that, then. i like to pun when i can catch someone off guard. keeps people on their toes… or _off_ them, in your case." You kept on walking. His footsteps thudded on the ground behind you. "where're you going?"

"To put real clothes on. I don't know if you remember this, but we did our whole 'magic lesson' in my pajamas last week. I wasn't wearing a bra. I went to Toriel's injured and braless. I'm _not_ repeating that ever." Your fingers pushed against your bedroom door before you glanced back at Sans. He was bright blue. "You alright?"

He didn't meet your gaze, rubbing his hand over his face in an effort to hide his blush. "you don't have to, uh, answer this. if you don't want to. but… has gaster seen you na--"

"I have told him that if he ever spies on me naked I will remove him from every timeline permanently. He will be trapped in the Void and only I will remember him as the creepy old pervert that spies on unsuspecting women." Sans looked over your straight, serious face before laughing. "I don't like it when people spy on me. That's why I have… _had_ a problem with that M girl. Anyways." You rolled your shoulders, "Go hang in the kitchen. I'll be done in a bit."

With that, you stepped into your room. You went about changing, throwing on a tank top, jeans, and some low sneakers. You brushed your hair before throwing it into a bun. Alright. You were ready to learn some more.

"Gast?" you called out, letting your Sight fade the world around you. You watched as your Voidman dripped from the ceiling, forming before you. He looked over you with that look - the one you had pinned as 'fatherly.' The very thought made you feel warm. Having someone _parental_ in your life was… nice. "A'ight. You still down with helping with magic lessons today?"

The glitch-like boxes around him (which had begun to dwindle in number) fizzled a bit when he did the goop equivalent of a shoulder roll. " **You don't plan on almost killing yourself again, correct?** " He was still pissed about that.

"Don't plan on it. Can't make any promises, though." The look he gave you made you shiver. He was a scary dad. "Not going to almost kill myself. Not doing that at all. Promise." He look skeptical. You held out your hand, extending your pinkie. "I pinkie promise, Gaster. And I don't break my promises."

" **I am incorporeal. You remember that, right?** " he asked softly, coming towards you and raising one of his hands. He extended his own pinkie. " **This won't work.** "

"The thought's still there," you responded, waiting for him to continue. His eye lights looked between your face and your pinkie. Eventually, he gave in, wrapping his boney pinkie around your fleshy one. He was cold.

_He felt cold._

You two stared at your hands. "I can feel you," you rushed out.

" **I can feel you, too,** " he responded, his eye lights and smile widening in excitement. " **I… I'm returning. I'm coming back into existence.** " He unwrapped his pinkie from yours and grabbed your hand. He pressed his thumb into the middle of your palm. " **Can you feel this?** " He was practically _vibrating._

"I can! Holy shit, I can feel that!" You could _feel_ Gaster. The only time you could ever 'feel' him was if you interacted with his soul or his glitch boxes. But you could feel him touching your hand.

There was a muted knock on your door. "g? y'alright? you've been in there awhile and now you're screamin'..." You let go of Gaster and went to your door, beaming widely at Sans. He stared up at you with a curious expression. "something good happen?"

"I can feel your father. And he can feel me." You smiled proudly. "I can feel your dad, Sans! Gaster can be felt! He's no longer fully incorporeal!"

" **I don't know about _that_ , G. He still can't see or hear me…**" You looked over your shoulder at him, then back to your skeleton friend.

"Can you see him? Hear him?" He shook his head 'no.' You looked back to Gaster. "Come here." He slithered over to you, tilting his head in curiosity. You grabbed his hand and grabbed Sans. Then you made them hold hands. Gaster's cheeks flushed purple but he looked excited nonetheless.

" **I can feel him!** " he cried out happily. " **I really am coming back into existence!** "

"this is fucking weird." You watched as Sans squeezed Gaster's hands. His fingers dipped into the hole in his palm. "i can feel his hand. can't see it. can feel the hole. can't see it. this is… weird." You continued to grin. Maybe this would help them reconnect. He pulled his hand away. "...we'll look into this later. your magic comes first right now, alright?" You glanced back at your Voidman, who looked both upset and understanding over his son's pulling away.

"Yeah. I get it." Sans turned and started walking down the hallway. You felt your magic crackle in your fingertips. On a whim, you extended your left hand and forced your magic around his soul, stopping him. "Caught you?" you murmured, a question to yourself rather than him. Was your magic working? There was no pressure on your chest, no scorching pain throughout your body. You felt… nothing. You _thought_ you were using your magic - but you felt nothing. No power. This was very different from last time.

"you caught me," he responded. "any pain this time around?" You lowered your hand, releasing the grip you had on his soul. He turned to look at you.

"No pain. I don't feel anything, actually. I knew I was using it, but I didn't _feel_ it going through me. No pain, no pressure, no crackling fingertips… Nothing." You could feel the magic popping around your birthmark and underneath your skin, though.

"that might just be how magic works for humans. i don't know, though… that'd be a question for someone else."

"Like Gaster?"

" **Yes.** "

"yeah."

You glanced back at your Voidman. "So, not feeling magic when I'm using it. Normal or not?" Gaster contemplated your question for a moment, rubbing the bottom of his bony chin while he focused on you. His purple soul pulsed softly.

" **If I remember correctly, it's normal for _some_ mages to not feel their magic while it is use. It had something to do with camouflaging their magic output so that it remained unnoticed by other magic-users. It was a genetic thing, though. Something passed down among prominent and strong mage families.** "

"But Sans sensed my magic. This camouflage thing is broken," you countered, looking back at the skeleton man. He had a brow bone raised in confusion. You filled him in, "Apparently, some mages in prominent families developed the ability to camouflage their magic from other magic-users while it was in use. Was passed down due to genetics, _I guess._ But it's broken because you felt my magic." At this, he looked away. Much like his father, his brow bones furrowed when he concentrated on something.

"that might be because of my own magic, though." His eye lights glanced back to you. "how much do you know about what went on underground?" Why was he sweating?

"I know what everyone's told me: Frisk came through the underground and spared everyone while searching for a way to free all of you. They found that way, though apparently no one remembers how. Tori and Asgore, when I've talked to them about it, say that one moment everyone was gathered and the next moment the barrier was broken. Why?"

A drop of sweat dripped down the side of his face. Why was he nervous? "so no one has really told you about how the underground _works._ probably a good thing, but that means i have to explain what i did down there. my magic is… amplified, if you would. while i can't do a lot of damage per hit, i can hit _a lot, quickly._ that amplification came from the fact that i was given a _kinda important_ position for asgore. i played the part of his judge." You tilted your head at this, glancing between him and Gaster. The Voidman wasn't looking at you. "the judge is a sacred position, someone that advises the king when he needs it. they also follow their namesake; they _judge._ with this magic amplification i can tell stats just from looking at a person. the most important of the two were exp and lv."

"Why were those two the most important? You said mine were normal for a human like me. Said that it meant I hadn't hurt or killed anyone." You raised a hand to your soul, cupping just beneath it. "What do those stats mean?"

"exp is an acronym - it stands for **ex** ecution **p** oints. lv is just shorthand for love. love isn't a good thing underground - at least, not the _acronym_ 'd version. love stands for **l** evel **o** f **v** iolenc **e**. you get exp from killing a magical being, particularly monsters. once you have enough exp under your belt you'd go up one lv. as the judge, it's important that i can tell those two in particular from just a glance."

"So the 'amplification' you were given allows you to detect all kinds of magic?" Sans nodded. "Why would you need to detect magic on top of knowing everyone's stats, though?"

There was a crackling in your ears. " **So if anyone ever passed the lv threshold, he could put a stop to them while avoiding their attacks.** " You turned to Gaster, absorbing the information before turning back to Sans.

"You _killed_ people!?" You weren't angry. Mostly shocked. You knew he was powerful, but to be _powerful_ with the reason to kill was very different.

"i never killed anyone!" he snapped at you. He looked up at you, not angry but distressed. "i.. didn't have to this time, thankfully. none of us underground dared to kill another and frisk came through as a pacifist. i only stopped 'em in the judgement hall to give 'em the explanation. i haven't killed anyone. i don't _want_ to kill _anyone._ "

Sans wasn't looking at you, his eye lights blurry and dark. It looked like he was a million miles away in his thoughts. You glanced back to find Gaster, but the Voidman was gone. He ditched you. Asshole. You pinkie promised. With a soft sigh, you walked towards Sans. You placed a hand on his shoulder. He jumped at your touch, looking up at you. It was worrying to see him like this - like he was scared and _ashamed._

"Alright. I get it." You raised your hand from his shoulder, cupping the side of his head. His soul lurched at the contact, the kind of lurch that makes you _feel_ for someone. "We don't have to talk about this _Judge_ thing anymore. All we need to know is that you can sense my magic with it."

He smiled softly, placing his hand over yours. Your stomach flipped when he leaned into your palm. "to be safe, we need to try it on another magic-user. it's not proper science to only conduct one test - even if gaster can confirm that you not feeling magic is normal for _some_ mages, we need to make sure that it's for the reason he thinks. i'll talk to alphys about setting up a room at the university lab and then i'll talk to undyne about letting you test it out on her."

"... _science talk?_ " You pulled your hand from his face. " _Magic science talk?_ "

"yes?"

" _Soul science talk?_ Is that a thing you do, too?" You couldn't help it - you let your excitement show through.

"i have a phd in 'soul science.' why?" His smile turned smug at your bright eyes.

"Sans, I _study souls._ You're a _soul scientist._ I didn't even realize you were into science! This is amazing! You're going to have to share your notes with me. I could make _so much headway_ in my research if I could look at your notes."

"yeesh, this might be the happiest i've ever seen you." His soul thrummed with the happiness of yours. "we'll talk souls later - when we talk about gaster. let's work on your magic for now."

"Got it."

"g?"

"Yeah?"

"thanks."

"For what?"

"for droppin' it."

"Oh. That."

You reached for his hand and squeezed it. He squeezed back.

"No problem."

 

 

**FOUR DAYS LEFT**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> forgot to mention this but...
> 
> i told my bf about 20/20 and now he's really into it and he's supposed to start reading it.
> 
> hey. bf.
> 
> if u get to this point text me plz thx.


	19. Countdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three...
> 
> Two...
> 
> One.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the arc is almost done! i'm so excited :DDDD

Sunday evening had passed by calmly, Gloria returning home sleepy and content. You had invited Sans and Papyrus to come over and eat as a 'thank you' for using so much of the older's time. They had both agreed.

You all ate dinner, sharing stories and jokes over spaghetti (made _specifically_ with Papyrus in mind). Gloria _nearly_ fell asleep in her pasta. Sans caught her as she slumped forward, his hand pressed against the middle of her chest. She didn't even open her eyes; she snored softly and didn't put up a fight when he moved her to rest on his shoulder.

You and Papyrus quieted down, watching as the older skeleton ruffled her hair and made sure she was comfortable. Your daughter sleepily clutched onto his sleeve, rubbing her cheek against his jacket.

Sans looked up when he realized that you two had gone silent, his eye lights searching between you. His cheekbones flushed blue and he shoved a bite of pasta into his mouth. You looked over to Papyrus. He had sparkles in his eye sockets, raising his hands to cup his jaw. You knew that face. He was going to squeal. You reached for him, hoping to stop him before he could. "Paps, n--"

" _SANSSSSS!_ YOU ARE BEING SO KIND AND GENTLE! YOU REALLY _ARE_ SERIOUS ABOUT BEING A FAMILY MA--" Papyrus' plate (covered in his third serving of spaghetti) was surrounded by blue magic and shoved into his face. It slid off his skull and revealed his surprised and (dare you say it?) _pissed off_ look.

"papyrusssss…" Sans covered his face with his free hand, barely hiding the brightening blue blush. "we talked about this!"

You looked between the brothers. "OH. WE DID! WE DID TALK ABOUT THIS!" Papyrus smiled with pride. "AND I BELIEVE YOU ARE DOING QUITE WELL IN STRIVING TOWARDS YOUR GOAL." He looked towards you and bounced in his seat. "WOULDN'T YOU AGREE, MISS G?" (He still hadn't decided on what he wanted to call you.)

"Uh…" You looked back at your blushing skeleton, then to your sleeping daughter, then to an excited Papyrus. "Yes. Definitely. I definitely agree with that. What you are saying? Agreed." Nice save, G.

"I'M SO HAPPY YOU FEEL THE SAME!"

Dinner continued on with softer conversation, ending when Sans and Papyrus helped you get Gloria ready for bed. Once she was tucked into her bed you cleaned up the kitchen with the younger brother, the older still blushing while playing on his phone.

'Family man.'

Not exactly a phrase you had thought you would ever associate with Sans, but the fact that his 'goal' was to be one caused your heart to flutter. You two already went on a 'kind of' date, and the flirting you two shared wasn't exactly hidden. Hell, you two holding hands wasn't that uncommon anymore. Did he...

"paps, it's gettin' late. you two almost done?" You were pulled from your thoughts by Sans' voice, looking down at him when he appeared beside you. His eye lights were locked on your hands, following them as you dried off a plate. They looked up to you before immediately looking away when you two locked eyes.

You set your plate down. "I can finish up drying, Paps. It is getting late - didn't you say you wanted to borrow Glor's _Fluffy Bunny's Day With Mama_? If you leave now, Sans can still read it to you before bed." You smiled up at him, winking conspiratorially. Papyrus blinked twice before grinning widely and winking. He even said 'WINK.' Bless him.

"YES! THEN, IF YOU DO HAVE THIS UNDER CONTROL, WE WILL TAKE OUR LEAVE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR DINNER, MISS G!" He set the forks in his grasp down before twisting around and hugging you tightly.

You struggled for breath in between laughs, hugging him back. "You're welcome, Papyrus. Tone it down just a bit, though. We don't want to wake Gloria up, right?" The taller skeleton nodded quickly and set you back down.

He tried his hardest to lower his voice. "MY APOLOGIES, G… CAN I STILL BORROW THAT COPY OF _FLUFFY BUNNY'S DAY WITH MAMA_?" You nodded and took a step back, turning and walking towards your room. The brothers shared a look before following you. You dug around in your desk, pulling out Gloria's well-loved copy. You opened it, glanced over the pages, nodded when it still looked alright, and closed it.

Sans stood outside your door, not looking in at your messy bedroom. Papyrus, on the other hand, bounced excitedly behind you. When you handed the book to him, he _squealed._ "Careful with this, alright? She loves this book - makes me keep it in here to keep it safe." He nodded happily.

"I SHALL, MAMA G. I CAN TELL IT IS IMPORTANT TO HER." He flipped the hard cover open. "OH?"

"what is it, bro?" You two walked back towards the hallway, though you glanced up at him. Sans was looking at him, too.

"MAMA G, THERE IS WRITING RIGHT HERE." He lowered the book to your level, pointing to your scrawl on the inner cover. "SOMEONE DEFILED YOUR BOOK! THOUGH IT IS… THOUGHTFUL."

"Yeah, every year I get Gloria a book for her birthday. I write something in the cover - how much I love her, how proud I am of her, how she's growing up - and I write the year and her age. See right here?" You pointed at the numbers just after your 'love, Mama!' "She was three. She _loved_ it."

"you give her books every year?" Sans looked to you, then back to your handwriting. "and you write in them?"

"Yeah." You looked between the two, who stared at the small passage with wide, sparkling eyes. Without a thought, you said, "I can do it for you two, too. Just need your birthdays."

"YOU WOULD?" Papyrus smiled down at you, trying to keep his voice low.

You shrugged, "Yeah. You're family, right? If it'd make you happy, of course I'd do it."

"NOVEMBER 22ND! IT'S NEXT MONTH!"

"You like the Fluffy Bunny series and…" You searched for the other type of book he liked. "Mystery? Mystery books right? 'Cause they're like--"

"INCREDIBLY COMPLEX PUZZLES!"

His smile was blinding. "Alrighty. I think I have an old book in my collection that you'd love." Papyrus bounced, holding the book to his chest and squealing quietly. You looked to Sans. "And you?"

"january 17th. remember the kinda books i like?"

"Joke books and science books. _Especially_... astronomy books? Astronomy and physics?" He seemed pleased and surprised you remembered. You playfully smacked his shoulder. "Think I'd forget?"

"you're getting old," he countered sarcastically. "a whole _thirty-four_ years old. yeesh."

"I'm writing the meanest thing ever in your book." You looked to Papyrus. "Is that alright? Can I do that?"

"HE DESERVES IT SOMETIMES. IF HE MAKES IT UP TO YOU, YOU SHOULD WRITE SOMETHING NICE IN HIS BOOK!" Ah, blessed Pap. Such a sweet brother.

"Alright, got it." You bumped shoulders with Sans. "Hear that? Your brother is saving you."

"bless him."

"Pfft… Bless Pap."

"THERE IS A HASHTAG METTATON STARTED ON THE BIRD SITE WITH THAT!" You giggled at that. _#BlessPap_

"alrighty, bro, time for us to go. you ready?" Sans extended his hand for his brother to take. Papyrus took it.

"I AM." He hugged you once more. "THANK YOU FOR DINNER AND ALLOWING US TO BORROW THE BOOK, G." You hugged back.

"You're welcome, Papy. Sleep tight, alright?" He smiled and nodded. You turned to Sans when you were set free. "You too. Sleep well, Sansy."

He blushed again at that, "yeah. you too. text me if something goes bump in the night and you need to chat."

"Text me if the creepies start crawling." You wrapped him up in a hug. He hugged back, his free hand clutching into the back of your shirt. "I'm serious. Us insomniacs need to stick together." You let him go.

"got it. night, g."

"Night, boys. Sleep tight."

"GOOD NIGHT!"

There was a crackle of magic with Sans' teleportation. You were left alone in your hallway. _Alright_ , you thought as you turned to go back to your room, _time to pack that emergency bag._

**THREE DAYS LEFT**

Monday passed by just as easily. It was terrifying - you had a mental countdown going on in your head that screamed for you to stay alert at all times, but your surroundings lulled you into a false sense of security. You'd find yourself getting comfortable, only to shoot up when there was a sudden creak in the house or a cold draft of wind rolled over your foot. It had been amazing that you hadn't caused any of your clients to freak out with your weirder than normal behavior.

When you picked up Gloria from Toriel's that evening, she remained uncharacteristically quiet in the back of your car. Her green eyes gazed off into the distance, unfocused and glazed over. She was deep in thought.

"Something on your mind, sweetheart?" you asked, glancing in your rearview mirror to catch her eyes. She looked to you with wide eyes before turning her gaze away. Her eyebrows furrowed and she murmured something to herself softly.

"Y-yeah." You looked back to the road, though you could hear her fiddling with her backpack. "Mama, do you think… even a bad person could change? That everybody could be a good person if they just - if they just _tried?_ " That question came out of left-field.

"Yes, I do," you responded immediately. Your knuckles went white as you gripped the steering wheel. "Gloria, you know that Mama wasn't always the way she was, right?" With another glance in the rearview mirror, you saw that she was looking right at you. She nodded. Your focus returned to driving. "I used to be mean to everyone. When I met your papa, I changed. A little bit, at least. I'm a bit more open-minded now. I _tried_ to be good, like your papa. I changed."

"You are good, Mama. You're… very good." You smiled at the sincerity in her voice. Your little girl was so kind.

"Is there a reason you're asking?"

"Yes. Frisk said something weird today." You looked back at her when you reached a stop light. Her eyebrows were scrunched together and she looked like she was on the verge of tears. "They said that… that they were sorry. That they guess the bad inside them was too much. I don't… I don't get it. I don't get why they think that! So I said that a bad person can be good if they tried! And they said--" She hiccupped. You turned back around to look at the road. You were almost home. "They said that someone told them that a long time ago and they believed it, too! But they're--" She was sobbing.

You barely pulled into your driveway before you threw the car in 'park' and jumped out of it, opening Gloria's door and pulling her into a hug. "Frisk is good, sweetheart. They're a good kid. You're not wrong about them. _We're_ not wrong about them. We'll prove it. We'll talk to them, alright?"

She clawed at your shirt, crying loudly. "They're so good, Mama! I don't - I don't get why they can't see that! They're good and kind and _I love them so much!_ I wouldn't love someone that wasn't good and kind! They're my best friend and I hate that they don't get it!" Her nose was dripping snot. She was getting it all over your t-shirt.

You didn't care.

"I know, baby, I know. We'll prove it to them, alright? We'll - we'll make them a cake or something. We'll throw them a 'good' party. I'll help you show Frisk that _they are good._ " That child was good. They _were good._

But the fact that this came up during the middle of your 'countdown' was worrisome.

**TWO DAYS LEFT**

Tuesday morning, you went about getting Gloria ready for school as usual. She wanted her hair tied up in a ponytail, her four pointed star hair pin secured among her locks. She said that Frisk had called it her 'Save' hairpin at one point and that it was very important. You merely did as she asked with a small, motherly grin.

Gloria seemed determined. She wanted to get her point across to Frisk. _"They're so good."_ She was going to get it across.

She was dead set on carrying her bag, even getting to the point where she smacked your hand when you reached for it. It had seemed heavier than usual, what with how she was struggling to keep it on her back. You scolded her before backing off. Probably part of her whole 'determined' mindset.

You drove her to school in a new kind of silence - an anticipatory silence. You could feel some kind of excitement in the car. Gloria was going to prove her point to Frisk. _"They're so good."_ You knew that, too.

You dropped her off with a kiss to her forehead, bidding her a good day at school. She smiled and nodded, jumping out and lugging her bag in.

When you returned home, your day went along as normal. Your clients came and went, taking your words to heart (or _soul_ ) and evaluating themselves as a whole. During your four o'clock appointment with a new client (a young man by the name of Robert Waters), you had an intense feeling of deja vu. It filled you with anxiety.

You managed to finish Mr.Waters' appointment with a smile, sending him off before pulling your phone out. It had been on silent.

**sans**   
**we need to talk right now**

**Toriel**   
**Call me as soon as you can. Please.**

**Asgore**   
**Please call. It's important.**

Oh, that was exciting. Another feeling of deja vu washed over you. You went to dial Toriel's number, but there was a sudden crackle of magic. Turning around, you took in Sans' frightened face. "S-Sans?"

He grabbed your hand, pulling you into him as he stepped through a rip. You landed in Toriel's living room, surrounded by a collection of different monsters. Asgore, Undyne, Papyrus, Alphys, Mettaton, Grillby - hell, even _Ashe_ was there. They all looked worried and frightened.

"What happened?" You looked around, listening for the sound of Gloria and Frisk. A thick silence was all you received. "What _happened!?_ "

There was a wet cough. You looked for the source of the noise. A yellow flower sat in a pot on the coffee table, the petals ripped and drooping. You jumped when it turned to you with a dark, pained smile. "So this is the idiot that let her _kid_ hang around Frisk, huh?"

 _A monster,_ you thought bitterly.

 ***An _asshole,_** the voice in your head corrected. You hadn't heard it since your last confrontation.

You leaned over the coffee table, taking in the flower monster. "Don't talk smack to me right now, buttercup. I want to know," you turned to look among the monsters, "where is my daughter!?"

Toriel, who looked like she had been crying, reached for you. "Frisk and Gloria… never showed up after school." You grabbed at your phone. **4:47 PM**

"School let out at four. Why am I only now hearing about this!?" You felt fear and anger prickle up your spine.

"'cause they typically show up at 4:20-ish. sometimes, a bit later. when 4:30 arrived we knew something was up. _i_ knew something was up." Sans grabbed your hand. You glared at him, your vision blurring as angry tears filled your eyes.

"You should've gotten me! I could've - I could've--" You tried to shake his hand off. It was a half-hearted attempt at best.

"We're waiting for the Royal Guard Canine Unit to arrive. They should be able to track the pair." You looked to Asgore, nodding and rubbing at your eyes.

"I'm going with them," you said. "I need to go back home to grab a couple things but then I'm going with them." A look was passed among the monsters before Undyne screeched.

"AGH! I _hate_ the fact that you all knew she'd say that! Someone tell her it's a bad idea!"

"IT'S A BAD IDEA?"

"Thanks, Paps." The fish woman walked up to you, smacking a finger into your chest. "LOOK! This is really, _really_ dangerous. You wanna know why!?"

You smacked her finger away with your free hand. "Why is it dangerous?"

"T-they… T-t-they found a n-n-note from t-t-the r-r-red soul this m-morning. It was o-on the t-table. The r-r-red soul _broke_ in and p-p-placed it t-t-there." You looked to Alphys. "W-w-we think t-t-they m-might've g-g-gotten Frisk and Gloria."

"All the more reason for me to go." You squared your shoulders, looking up at Undyne. "I am going with everyone to look for my daughter and my daughter's best friend. I am not going to sit by and--" A sob you hadn't expected busted through you. You shook with fear and anger. "I am not going to _sit and let some murderer hurt my family!_ "

There was a loud snap, a crackling energy rolling through the room.

Papyrus was the first to speak. "WOAH."

"What was that!?" Undyne looked between you and Alphys.

"T-that was m-m-magic."

All of the monsters turned to look at you and Sans. The smaller skeleton shrugged. "told ya she had powerful magic. hadn't seen it burst like that, though." You watched as he pulled his phone out and opened up a notepad app. "'releases magic bursts when feeling strong emotions.' sounds about right."

"Not the time, Sans," Toriel bit out. He shrugged again. "G, I… Yes. Yes, you should go."

"Toriel--!" Asgore looked to her, eyes wide with shock.

"I'm going with everyone to look for Frisk. Why should we deny G the chance to look for her daughter?" The goat woman looked to her husband. "I am not losing _either_ of these children, Asgore. Not again."

The King looked ashamed. "I… understand." He looked to Sans. "Take her to gather her things."

"got it." He pulled you with him once again, another feeling of deja vu washing over you as you landed in your house. "get your shit."

You shot to your room, opening your closet and reaching for the backpack you had put together at M's suggestion. You grabbed at empty air. Flicking on the lamp in the closet, you hissed when you saw the backpack on the floor, _empty._ All the magical food you had packed? _Gone._ The small first-aid kit? _Gone._ Your flashlight? _Gone._

...that's why her bag had been so heavy. She knew something was going to happen! How!? How had Gloria known!?

No time to think. You could ask when you found her.

You threw on some well-worn hiking boots and a thick jacket. You tied your hair up. You grabbed the empty backpack and threw in a few bottles of water, the rest of the package of spider cookies, another flashlight, and your phone. You activated your Sight long enough to find Gaster. "Someone grabbed Gloria and Frisk."

" **Be careful.** "

"Yeah. Be home when I get her."

" **G?** " You looked at him, taking in his worried expression. " **Please, be careful. Don't get yourself killed.** "

You stuck your pinkie out, "Pinkie promise."

He wrapped his cold pinkie around yours. " **Promise.** "

With that, you dropped your Sight and walked to Sans. "you ready?" The way he phrased it gave you another sense of deja vu. You had to rub at your forehead to clear the fog it caused away from your brain.

"Yeah."

"something wrong?"

"Getting real intense deja vu." You watched as his eye sockets went black, his brow bones furrowing. "It's probably just… stress, or something. I don't know. Take me back so I can look for my daughter." You extended your hand to him. He wrapped his around yours, pulling you into him. He wrapped his arms around you in a hug.

You started to shake, so you closed your eyes and rested your forehead against his. "we'll get her this time, i promise." You couldn't focus on his words. Instead you just enjoyed the feeling of his arms around yours.

**ONE DAY LEFT**


	20. *She Refused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a lot to say with this chapter!
> 
> 1) m's theme is the 8bit remix of kagerou days! her motif is also kagerou days, lol. (the remix can be found [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aytu3ya4KV4))  
> 2) if you want a reference as to what the 'soul explosions' are like, clickl [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=786bb0vGdJM&t=523s). i tweaked the red magic from this fan-battle to better represent what it's like in this world.  
> 3) there's so much drama, it's like a soap opera lolol.  
> 4) m's battle sprite is [here](http://acoolegg.deviantart.com/art/may-s-battle-sprite-idle-gif-680699111)

At exactly midnight, the Royal Guard Canine Unit led your group up the side of Mount Ebott. You passed by your house on the way up the rocky mountain, glancing at it and wishing that you were at home with Gloria. The flower monster - named _Flowey_ \- had tagged along, explaining that the 'idiot kids' had definitely climbed back up the mountain.

He had said that 'the main dummy' was the one that tore his petals up. When asked if that meant Frisk, he said, "Frisk's _body._ Not Frisk themselves." Sans had froze up at that. His left eye socket lit up with color, flickering between cyan and yellow. His eye light had yet to stop.

As you neared the top of the mountain, the monsters surrounding you grew even more nervous. When you saw a lone figure standing before an empty cavern, bathed in moonlight, you understood why. That cavern had been where they had all come from, and the lone figure had a red soul before them.

The white soul leeching onto it told you who it was immediately.

"M," you whispered, pushing to the front of the group. The teenage girl looked at you evenly, spreading her feet to evenly distribute her weight. "M, you didn't take the kids, right?" She shook her head 'no.' "Then why are you here?"

"Az says that if I let ya go in too soon, Chara'll kill Gloria. Says that they've done it three times already. I'm supposed ta keep ya from goin' in, anyway possible." Az? You looked back towards everyone else, looking over their expressions before taking in the horrified faces of Toriel and Asgore. They looked like they were about to cry. M looked to them. "Az says he's sorry things got this far, and that he wished that he had told Chara it was a stupid idea."

"Who… are Az and Chara?" you asked. M looked back to you, her red eyes seeming to glow beneath the moonlight. She pushed her bangs back from her face and sighed. You watched as she dug her hands into her jacket's pockets.

"Asriel and Chara Dreemurr. The prince of all monsters and his human sibling. They died a long, _long_ time ago. I was jus' _blessed_ with the fuckin' gift to See their stupid dead souls." She focused on the ground before her, murmuring something incoherently. "Shut up, Az! Lemme think for a sec!" She smacked at her head.

"M, I need pass." You didn't have time for this. Your _daughter_ was apparently _about to die._ You walked towards her. Her soul radiated visible red magic. It pulsed wildly, like it was two different rhythms fighting. She looked up at you, her eyebrows furrowing as she bared her teeth.

"I'm tryna keep yer kid alive - are ya fuckin' deaf!? Ya. Can't. Pass!" She snarled, "Don't fuck this up, G. Y'already fucked up one parta my family. Don't fuck this side up, too." Tears started to fall down her cheeks. "I'm tryna keep Gloria alive and yer gonna fuck it up!" As she screamed, the world around you fell into darkness. M drained of color, save for the red of her eye and the stripes across her shirt.

***M stands before you.**

***Fight? Act? Use an Item? Or use Mercy?**

Her words didn't escape you - neither did the fact that she had pulled you into a confrontation. Sans had said that only monsters could do that. Her soul pulsed wildly before her, the white soul drawing your attention as it struggled to hang on. That was Asriel's soul - a monster.

She was using _his_ power for this.

 _Act._ M wiped her tears away, instead focusing on you intensely. She bounced on her feet in time to a tune that started to blast in your ears. Her red eyes never pulled away from you.

***Check. Reason. Comfort. See.**

_Check._ She stood firmly, digging into her jacket pocket once again. She pulled out a thin blade. The red magic from around her soul gathered around it. What was she doing? Preparing some kind of attack?

***MAY 117 ATK 65 DEF**  
***She has Asriel's power in her soul.**  
***She hates you.**

Great. She hated you. You had no time to take in that information before she slashed the blade across her chest. Instead of the red magic shooting towards you though, it shot through her. You watched in horror as her torso exploded with blood, her soul exploding with it.

As it exploded, though, it released a blast. The blast of pure _determination_ shot through you and your soul, causing your to scream out in pain. You fell to the ground as you tried to recover. When you looked up to take in her dead body, your eyes widened as her soul reformed. She looked a little worse for wear, but she--

She _was alive again._

"I… _REFUSE._ " She huffed loudly, gripping the handle of the blade so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "You - yer the reason my family fell apart! Ya took Uncle Darren away from Gramma and Gramps! Ya - ya broke my family!"

Uncle… Darren?

…

What had the voice called her?

***May stands before you.**  
***It smells like teen spirit.**

_May?_

The voice returned at that thought. ***Fight? Act? Use an Item? Or use Mercy?**

Shit, that was _May?_ Marguerite's daughter!? Why was she out here!? She was just a kid - she was barely fifteen! You hadn't seen her since she was a toddler! Why was she here? _Where was her mom!?_

***Focus. What will you do?**

_Act._

***Check. Reason. Comfort. See.**

_Reason._

"May, please. I need to get pass you, okay? I need to get to Gloria! I'm sorry for whatever happened with your family but I need to get to Gloria!" You held your hands before you, trying to show her that you meant no harm.

She screamed again, making another slash across her torso. Her blood was the same bright red color as her eyes. You wanted to vomit as her soul exploded again, though you had enough sensibility to jump out of the blast's way. It caused your hair to fly back as it passed by you.

Pure determination was powerful.

"If ya go pass me righ' now, Chara's gonna kill Gloria!? They'll kill Gloria and they Frisk'll have to reload again! And again! And again! Asriel is cryin' cause he remembers it everytime and I CAN'T STAND THE CRYIN' ANYMORE! It's _hurtin'_ him! It's hurtin' _ME!_ I don't remember it but I know the feelin' of losin' her - I'm not lettin' ya kill the only family I got left again because yer TOO IMPATIENT!"

The turn came to an end.

***May's soul is crying.**  
***Smells like iron.**

Was… Marguerite dead? Was May all alone?

_Mercy._

***Mercy? Or flee?**

_Mercy, dammit!_

***No need to be rude. It's just the menu.**

"I spare you, May." You stood your ground. She looked surprised, then offended. Her blade lit up with bright reds.

"Ya think _sparin'_ me's gonna get ya outta this mess sooner!? I _ain't_ about ta let ya get pass with some nice words and a hug!" She slashed across her chest. Her soul exploded. You jumped out of the way.

Time for a different approach.

***May's getting tired.**  
***Smells like a bad time.**

_Fight._

***Fight.**

You didn't attack right then, instead choosing to have her start her slash. You extended your hand and made a fist, focusing on her soul. It turned an electric blue. There was a faint pressure on your chest as you forced her soul to the ground.

She fell with it. "Why!? Jus' - jus' stop fightin' 'n' stay here! It's only - it's only a while longer before ya can go!" She was crying. "Asriel won't stop cryin' - he doesn't want to have to relive today again! I don' wanna have to see Gloria's dead body in my _soul_ anymore! I don' wanna be the last one of my family! Please! Please - jus' wait a lil' bit longer!"

***May's crying loudly.**  
***Smells like she's had enough.**

_Act. Comfort._

"May, I don't know what happened. I really, _really_ don't. I'm sorry." She didn't respond.

***May's crying.**  
***Smells like she's had enough.**

_Act. Comfort._

"I'm sorry for whatever happened in your family after we left. We didn't want to cause any trouble after your grandfather kicked us out. We just wanted to be happy."

***May's sniffling.**  
***Smells like she's had enough.**

_Act. Comfort._

"I won't let you be alone. What if we go save Gloria together?"

***May's looking up at you.**  
***Smells like she's had enough.**

_Act. Check._

***MAY 117 ATK 65 DEF**  
***She and Asriel are crying.**  
***She's lonely.**

***May's looking up at you.**  
***She's sparing you.**

"I spare you."

The world around you came back into color. You immediately rushed over to May, helping her up and looking over her. She looked up at you, eyes watery. "I still hate ya," she muttered, rubbing at her cheek. "But Gloria's the last of my family around and I don' wanna lose her."

Before you could respond, the rest of your group were around you. Toriel had you wrapped up in a hug, standing between you and May. She looked down at the teenager, eyes not cold so much as calculative. After a moment, she said, "Asriel's soul is truly with you?"

The girl nodded, bowing forward slightly. "He is. I dunno how er why he's with me, but he is. He's happy ta see ya, Mom." Toriel's eyes widened at how her voice changed. She shot up and smacked her head. "I told him not ta do tha'." May reached for your wrist. "He says we gotta go now. If we go now, we can stop Chara."

You hadn't even felt Sans walk up behind you, but he smacked her hand away. "just lead the way, kid." May looked mildly offended but turned on her heel and walked off. You looked down at him. His left eye socket still flickered between cyan and yellow. "...she refused," he murmured. You grabbed him by his hoodie's sleeve and followed the rest of the group.

It was time to save Gloria and Frisk.

**ZERO DAYS LEFT**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we hit chapter 20???? woah


	21. Chara

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You stand in a golden hall, watching as a demon wearing Frisk's face keeps your daughter down.
> 
> This wasn't going to work out at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ugh i broke this one into two slightly smaller chapters. it was long and there was a pov shift. lol.

You had never thought that your first trip through the underground would go like this. You had thought that it'd be a trip full of laughter and a full of stories filled with fond memories - not this tense march through your friends' old home. May led the charge, muttering to herself about where she needed to go. It sounded like you were listening in to someone on the phone. "We turn where? ...oh, _there?_ ...near the Core. Alrigh'. ...no, I'll get 'em there."

Asgore and Toriel trailed right behind her, watching as she looked over the paths before her calculatively. You understood that - she was housing their dead son's soul on her own. Flowey, who was held by Asgore, had stopped talking altogether. He's stem bent as his head bowed forward. He seemed… tired.

At one point, May had collapsed. Your group had just entered a brightly lit room covered in golden yellow flowers, a towering, lone chair sitting in the middle. It looked big enough to fit Asgore.

A throne room?

Both goat monsters bent to help her up, but she shook her head and attempted to stand up on her own. Eventually, Toriel ignored her wishes and helped her up. The teenage girl simply fell in her arms - you couldn't tell if that was _May_ or _Asriel_ seeking the comfort she could give. After another moment of tense silence, she pulled away.

"I - I'm good. I'm alrigh' now." May turned abruptly and continued to walk forward. You touched Toriel's shoulder as you passed, a gesture meant to comfort her. She looked at Asgore before shaking her head and following. The group remained silent as you stepped out of the throne room and into a pure gray hallway. It stretched down either side, leading into other corridors.

May turned right and continued on, her eyebrows furrowed in a look of pure determination. You looked back towards your friends - their silence was terrifying. This wasn't what they were supposed to be; they were loud, and happy, and obnoxiously kind. Not quiet and scared, like something was going to jump out from the shadows and bite them.

"So," you started. You hoped this would work. "This isn't what I thought my first time underground would be like." You looked to the person you _knew_ would help get you out of this. "Papyrus, was it nice down here? I mean, all things considered."

The tall skeleton blinked at your question, the uncharacteristic frown turning up slightly. "YES! EVEN THOUGH IT WAS QUITE CRAMPED, IT WAS NICE. EVERYONE GOT ALONG AND WE ALL WORKED TOGETHER TO LIVE HAPPILY." He shot up to walk beside you. "SANS AND I LIVED IN SNOWDIN, WHICH IS QUITE THE WALK AWAY FROM HERE! IT WAS   
ALWAYS SNOWING THERE. SNOW MADE FOR GREAT PUZZLES!"

You smiled at him, hoping that if you did you'd stay positive. You were going to get to Gloria. "And, as you've told me _many times_ , the Great Papyrus makes great puzzles. Next time I'm here, you need to show me them. I'm certain Gloria would love to try them."

"Pah!" You and Papyrus looked to Undyne. "In Waterfall, we had the _coolest_ puzzles. Well, they weren't as good as Alphie's puzzles in Hotland, but they were cool. We had bridge flowers and a bridge that was basically impossible to navigate!"

"I STILL DON'T BELIEVE THAT A BRIDGE THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO NAVIGATE COUNTS AS A PUZZLE, UNDYNE…"

"ARG! Would you shut up!" You looked to Flowey, who had turned to glare at you three. "We're almost there… Smiley Trashbag." The flower's gaze turned to the skeleton that lagged behind. "Are you ready to see your _hall?_ " You looked to Sans, seeing his eye sockets go dark.

"they're there?" he asked, popping up beside him. Sans walked beside Asgore, glaring at Flowey. "were you going to share that information any _sooner_?"

The flower hissed in his face, "Nah. Look, the Edgy Brat up there has the rest of _my soul._ And _Asriel_ didn't want me to share that information with her," he shot a dark glance to you, "because we both know that you'd take her there and end up getting killed. Chara's back with a vengeance."

"...Wait, what?" You jogged forward slightly. "Look, I'm going to need an explanation on _all of this later_ , but what is Chara's _problem?_ Where did they _come from?_ "

"Remember how the Edgy Brat had the ability to refuse?" You nodded. "Well, Chara refused _far later_ after they died. Found that they had the ability to ride on red souls. They jumped from red soul to red soul after getting out of the underground… They were the one that convinced a lot of humans to dust monsters." What. Flowey snickered at your expression. "Oh, he hasn't told you _anything_ about _this timeline,_ huh? Well," he mocked, " _you'll get an explanation later._ But for now… Chara gained enough determination to overtake Frisk's soul. I don't know why they came down here, though…"

Before your group was a large doorway, big and intimidating. May glared at it, thrumming her fingers against her legs. "Y'all are gonna wanna get ready. Chara's ready for a figh' and Gloria's pretty beat up." Your eyes widened at that. She looked to you. "How's yer HP?"

"she's still fine. still above the 3,700 mark. why?" You looked to Sans. His left eye socket was flickering between blue and yellow again.

"Chara's using Frisk's soul to do out-of-combat attacks. Strong magic." Her voice had changed again, from the low, accented one you knew to a slightly higher, clear one. When she turned to you, she rubbed the back of her head. "When I dunno the answers, Az'll answer for me sometimes."

You shook your head and walked through the doorway. The new room you came to - this new _hallway_ \- was bathed in golden light. It had stained glass windows on your right, large golden pillars spaced between them. In the middle of the hallway, casting dark shadows over the golden floor, was Frisk and Gloria.

Frisk - er, _Chara_ \- stood over Gloria, a knife in their hand and an evil look in their eyes. Your daughter was collapsed on the floor. It looked like she had been crawling towards you.

Chara's eyes were completely open, irises no longer the brown you were used to. They were a bright red that matched May's. They had an evil smile on their face, a dark mixture of jovial and cynical. "Ah ah ah, would you look at that?" It didn't feel right to hear a voice coming from Frisk's mouth.

Chara reached forward, grabbing your daughter by the hair and forcing her to look at you. Your magic crackled in your fingertips as you took in her bloodied nose and the bruise forming across her eye. There were tears dripping down her cheeks. "Mama." She sounded broken. "Mama, this… isn't Frisk's… fault!" She struggled to get up. Chara let go of her head and stomped on her back.

"Stay down, you idiot!" they barked, twirling the knife in their hands. "'This isn't Frisk's fault!'" they mocked, stepping off your daughter and laughing. "Yeah, right. _It's not their fault this time._ Any other time it is. This is just… retribution!"

"Get away from my daughter," you hissed. Their red eyes flicked to you, then to the group of monsters that had entered in behind you. Their mouth pulled into that evil smile again. "I swear to _god_. If you don't get away from Gloria, I'll--"

"You'll _what?_ You'll hold me down with that pathetic blue magic of yours? You'll fight me until I'm gone? Please. If you kill me, I just come back from Frisk's last save. And let me tell you, if that happens again I'll take control fast enough that I'll get the last save point back." They laughed. "Frisk always manages to throw that stupid hairpin away before I can take control."

"Mama," Gloria cried softly. You felt your magic crackle again. You stepped forward.

Chara didn't like that. "Don't take another step forward, you idiot. I can kill your stupid kid right here, 'cause Frisk to hurt _just enough_ that they reload. We can do this _all again_ and I'll win."

"Chara!" May stepped in front of you. Their face twisted into a disgusted sneer. "We're not doin' this again, _brat._ "

"Ugh, _you._ " They stepped away from Gloria just a bit, setting their hands on their hips like an upset child. "Asriel sure did choose an idiot for this job. He wants to save everyone. He forgets that Frisk and I made a deal. I let them come back." You watched in horror as their eyes turned completely black, goo dripping from their eyes and mouth. "They made the deal, I'm just here collecting my retribution."

Suddenly, they were forced off of the ground. You recognized that magic, turning to Sans. He had sweat gathering on his brow bones. "sorry. they were pissin' me off."

Asgore no longer looked like a worried father. He looked like the King he was. "Be careful with them, Sans. They're still my child."

"which one?" he shot back snidely. "'cause that's your _dead kid_ possessing your _living kid._ " Asgore looked uncomfortable at that, turning to look at Chara. Sans huffed, "their lv is at 8. if what the flower said is correct--"

"I wouldn't lie about this, you Trashbag!"

"--then that's all chara. they're powerful, but not _too powerful._ "

"Put me down, you cheater! I may not be LV 19 now, but I'll still dust you! I'll wipe you and all of the other monsters off the face of the earth!" Chara was struggling in Sans' magic. You used that to run forward, pulling Gloria off of the floor and into your arms. She grabbed at your shirt, leaving dirty and bloodied fingerprints over the material.

"Mama, it's not Frisk's fault," she repeated. "They just wanted to get away to protect everyone. It's not," she sobbed, "it's not their fault! Please don't be mad at them, please. They're not… Chara's the one that's being mean." You cuddled her close and stepped back towards the group. Toriel had her arms open, her paws glowing green with healing magic. She'd take care of Gloria.

"Ugh, you freaking cheater! Fine, you won't put me down!?" Chara laughed. "I don't need to be down to do this!" There was a loud buzzing in the hallway, like it was collecting on something. You turned around to see what was happening, watching in disturbed awe as red magic collected around their blade. They swung it. The force of red magic came your way. You turned your back and held Gloria even closer, shielding her from the impact.

You felt it lacerate your back, felt the blood spew for a brief moment as you stumbled and fell forward. You managed to keep Gloria in your arms as you laid overtop of her, protecting her from whatever else might come your way. There was a ringing in your ears and you tasted iron. When you coughed and saw red droplets gather on her cheeks, you knew it was blood. Great. Shit.

There was some kind of screaming now, a thousand voices overlapping and fighting to be heard. As you forced your blurring vision to focus on your baby, you realized that she was one of those screaming voices. She was punching at your chest, grabbing at your face, trying to make you respond.

You smiled at her, raising a hand to hold her birthmark-covered cheek in your palm. "This wasn't Frisk's fault," you repeated, hoping that you got her point across. At that she started openly sobbing, wrapping her arms around you.

"Mama, Mama! Mama, you're hurt - you're hurt - you're hurt! You have to get up! Please, you're bleeding every where and I - I don't know what to do! Please, Mama, please! Tell me what to do to make you better!" Her voice started to sound like it was underwater, mixing in with the other screaming in your ears. Blackness creeped into the sides of your vision and you found that it was near impossible to stay hunched over her. You were shaking too much.

Blood was dripping freely from your mouth and nose. Gloria kept running her hands over your face, smearing it while trying to get you to respond. "You're a good girl, Glory." You had to keep yourself up to protect her. "My sweet girl."

"Yeah, yeah! Mama I'll be you sweet girl forever! I won't go away! You have to promise that you - you can't go away either--" There was another laceration against your back. More blood spewed from you, openly dripping down your sides. She screamed. "Mama, we have to get away now, okay!? Okay!?"

"Alright." You tried to keep your shaking voice calm as your vision swam. Gloria's features were nothing more than indistinguishable blobs of color. "I love you so much," you said as you lowered your head, pressing a kiss against her forehead.

"I love you, too, Mama. Please keep talking to me - please keep your eyes open!" Your vision was still blurred and the black around the edges creeped in closer. You were shaking too much for you to be able to stay up. You fell onto her, moving your arms to keep her pressed against you. "Mama, Mama?" Your vision was almost entirely black. You couldn't focus anymore - from the buzzing in your head to the pain that was too much, nothing made sense.

Gloria screamed at the top of her lungs. You faintly heard Sans call out, "shit, glory, use your shield!" There was a rush of magic that pulsed through you but you couldn't focus on the fact that your pain ebbed away slightly. Your daughter clung to you, screaming and crying and shaking you.

"Mama, Mama! Mama, open your eyes! Mama you're safe, I promise! Please, Mama, please don't stop breathing! Please, please, _please_ Mama! Please," her voice broke into a sob, "please don't leave me alone!"

"I'm… here," you managed to get out, coughing loudly. You could hear something slamming above you, sounding like glass hitting glass. You couldn't get your eyes to cooperate enough to open up. "I'm here, baby. Not going anywhere."

"Good. Stay here. Stay _alive_ , Mama." Gloria moved beneath you. You struggled to keep her close. "I'm going to go talk to Chara."

"You can't," you choked out. If she left whatever safe area she had made, she was going to die.

"Yes, I can. Frisk said that my kindness knows no bounds." She managed to get out from under you. You heard a zipping sound, like something was opening. "I'm going to talk to Chara. I'm going to do what Frisk does. I'm going to… be determined." You blindly reached for your daughter, screeching when you couldn't feel her. The zipping sound returned.

"Glory!? Gloria!?" you screamed loudly. "GLORIA!"


	22. Retribution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, all you need to do is to be someone's friend.
> 
> At least, that's what Gloria thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part 2 with gloria's perspective (which was hard to do because 1. she's 6 and 2. i didn't want to make the writing too 'baby'-y)
> 
> ugh i couldn't get this to end well so whoops it's short and a cliffhanger 
> 
> let's begin the next arc

Gloria's mama was hurt. She was bleeding a lot, and that green magic she used had managed to make her start talking again. The green magic also formed a shield over her mama, keeping her safe from those red attacks Chara kept firing their way.

She stepped before her green bubble, stretching her arms out to either side in a wide, vulnerable condition. The magic attacks that came from either side stopped. Toriel screamed her name. She didn't care.

Chara - the person that stole _Frisk's_ body - merely raised a brow in curiosity, their red eyes digging into her. "Frisk's little friend has decided to come play, huh?"

"You hurt my mom," Gloria started, not tearing her gaze away from them. "You hurt my _friends and family_." She spread her feet to steady herself. Her hands, surprisingly, did not shake. "You took my _best friend_ and made them hurt the people we love! All because you were trying to collect something!? Collect _Frisk's soul!?_ "

Chara stepped towards her, the knife in their hands glowing bright red. "Yes, I'm here to collect Frisk's soul. I gave them the chance to save everyone, after they made a terrible decision to _kill them all._ Well," they giggled, "after _we_ made the terrible decision to kill them all. They made a deal: if they wanted to save everyone again, I get their soul. I wouldn't be lonely if I had their soul with me."

"You came back and caused all this harm because you were lonely." Gloria extended her hand. "Then I won't let you be lonely anymore, Chara."

The other child regarded her with a cold stare. "You think _offering your hand in friendship_ will fix what Frisk has done? Hah… Typical of people like you." Their gaze flickered to the girl with her family. "Asriel thought the same thing when we first met. He thought that if he was nice, he could fix me." Chara suddenly lifted their hand up, slashing the knife into the air. "But nothing can fix a demon! Us demons," they slashed again, forming a glowing red 'X' before them, "will always stick together."

They flicked their knife and the magical 'X' shot towards Gloria. She didn't move, instead choosing to keep her hand stretched out before her. The red magic hurt as it cut through her, causing her skin to start bleeding where it had went through. But if she fought back, she wouldn't get her point across. Instead, she walked forward.

"I'm not trying to _fix_ you," she said. Chara was looking at her like she was crazy. "I'm not trying to _fix_ Frisk, either. I'm Frisk's friend. We love each other for every part of us - for the weird Sight we both have, to their rainbow-colored cracked red soul, to my patched-up green soul. They think that they have to do everything right on the first try, or else everything will fall apart. I get so nervous and upset when they're not by my side, because I feel like I'm not good enough without them. We stay together because we're best friends. We don't _fix_ each other - we stay together because we're _better together!_ "

"Like you 'n' Az were, Chara." The girl spoke, her footsteps the only thing making a sound in the hallway. "Ya made him feel strong, Chara. He made ya feel _happy._ You two were siblin's 'fore anything else. You two stayed together because ya were better tha' way." She came and stood behind Gloria. There was a strong power pulsing off of her. Gloria could feel her magic crawling on her skin.

Once again, she extended her hand. "You don't have to be lonely, Chara. We're not trying to fix anything Frisk has done. We're not trying to fix anything you've done, either!"

"Chara, my child." Gloria turned when Aunt Toriel laid a paw on her shoulder. She looked at Chara with warm eyes. "We love you. _I_ love you."

That set them off. They slashed the air in front of them again. "Shut up, Mom! You - you left after we died!" The red magic flew forward. A new, green shield appeared before the group. They screamed. "ARGH. JUST DIE, ALREADY!"

"Chara, this isn't what your siblings would want from you." Gloria looked to Uncle Asgore when he stood with her. "Asriel doesn't like what you're doing. I'm certain Frisk is still in there - scared. But… They still love you. _I_ still love you."

"ARGH! Don't call them my siblings - don't say that you love me when you declared war right after we died! Just die already! If everyone dies then everything will be fine!" They slashed the air again, flicking their wrist and causing the magic to move forward. The attack seemed slow compared to the previous ones. The shield blocked the magic again. "Just - just give me! Just let me stay Frisk so I'm not lonely, please."

"You think I'm not lonely!?"

Gloria looked for the new voice, seeing Papyrus trying to calm down a yellow flower. He hesitantly brought the plant forward, setting the monster on the ground in front of her. Then, he remained by her side.

"Chara - you _know who I am!_ My soul currently resides in the _Edgy Brat_ and no one knows what it's like to be two separate entities at once! I'm lonely! I'm angry, and scared, and _lonely!_ But I'm learning to _change!_ I want you to change, too! Why do you think Asriel's soul found a way to come back so he could hitch a ride on _Edgy Brat's_ soul!? Because he wants you to change before you make a dumb decision because you're _lonely!_ "

At this, an upside down, white soul floated before Gloria. Aunt Toriel's grip on her shoulder tightened considerably at the sight. She looked between her aunt and her uncle, seeing how they supported the girl and cried at the new soul. "A-Asriel." Uncle Asgore reached for the soul, "Oh, my boy…"

The sound of metal hitting the floor caused everyone to look up. Chara had dropped the knife, coming forward to cup the upside down soul. "...we just wanted to save everyone," they murmured.

"Well." Undyne's voice joined the conversation. "Everyone's saved, kid."

"E-except you and Frisk, it s-s-seems." Alphys was here?

"You can't _possibly_ be lonely anymore, darling?" And Mettaton? Wow, everyone was here!

"so let's say that your retribution is done, alright?" Sans was beside her, pulling her into his side. He stood just slightly in front of her, too.

Chara looked at the group, eyes widening as they took everyone in. "Oh, wow. She got up." The group looked to where they stared. Gloria smiled widely as her mama walked towards them.

"Look, Chara. I dunno what your problem is…" She coughed loudly, pushing past everyone as she came stand beside-also-kind-of-in-front of Gloria. "But this is enough retribution, wouldn't you say? With your brother back, you shouldn't be so lonely anymore, right?"

"Yeah. I guess." They looked over everyone again, eyes stopping on Gloria. They snickered and walked towards her. She extended her hand once again. "I guess us red souls can't get by without a little bit of kindness by our side." They shook her hand. "Take care of Frisk."

"I always do! We're gonna get married so I have to." It's true - they were going to get married! Frisk had pinkie promised it.

Chara snickered again. "Alright. Well." They looked at the white soul in their hands. "Love you guys. Bye." Without any other words, they closed their fist and shut their eyes. They immediately fell forward - _asleep._ The air in the room seemed to get lighter, some kind of extra weight gone.

After a moment, Gloria said, "Well that's one way to end things!" She kept Frisk held up, patting their head. "But everyone's still here."

"Certainly anticlimactic," Mama muttered, swaying a bit. "Oh, here comes the blood loss." Sans reached across Gloria, keeping her up.

"tori, can your magic fix this?"

Aunt Toriel was busy picking Frisk up, but she stopped and looked at Mama worriedly. "Not entirely. It's… both physical and magical damage. We'll… probably need to get her to a hospital."

"Ugh." Papyrus picked her up while Sans helped Mama stay up. Her mama stuck her tongue out, "I hate hospitals."

"Doctors are yucky but you need to go," Gloria responded. She felt oddly responsible telling her mama to go to the doctors. She knew she wasn't going to _die_ now that she was up and walking. But the blood all over her back didn't look good.

"Yeah. Yeah, I need to go," Mama gave in. "Alright… Let's… go." She collapsed forward.

"Mama!"

"g!"

"MISS G!"

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](https://acoolegg.tumblr.com/)   
>  [soul seer doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ryi2sGFbp6deel9-WuE8M4LxXezuK6g2wcmhkfAocPw/edit)   
>  [current and future cast height chart](http://acoolegg.deviantart.com/art/20-20-Sight-Current-and-Future-Cast-676760221)   
>  [20/20 Timelines (spin-off fic)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10745166/chapters/23820687)


End file.
